Mario has a new voice actor, and his credits are just as obscure as Charles Martinet's were back in the '90s
Oct. 13, 2023Super Mario Bros Wonder’s new Mario actor has seemingly voiced just one video game before, and it’s Genshin Impact
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With minimal fanfare, Nintendo has finally confirmed the new voice of Mario inSuper Mario Bros. Wonder, and he has at least one thing in common with Charles Martinet in that you probably won’t recognize much of his pre-Mario work.
“Incredibly proud to have voiced Mario and Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Wonder,” voice actor Kevin Afghani says onTwitter. “Thanks to Nintendo for inviting me into the Flower Kingdom!” Nintendo itself hasn’t put out a public-facing statement on the cast, but the company has seemingly confirmed toIGNthat Afghani is, indeed, the new voice of the Mario brothers, at least for Wonder.
If you don’t recognize Afghani’s name, you’re probably not alone. Many of hisIMDBcredits are for parts in various animated web series, including a stint as Raditz on TeamFourStar’s Dragon Ball R&R series. He does have one video game credit, however - he’s inGenshin Impactas the event-exclusive NPC known as Ask-Me-For-Directions Arnold. Quite a jump going from a talking bird statue to the most famous character in video games, but all I can really say is congratulations.
While these days thenow-former voice of Mario, Charles Martinet, is considered a legend among fans, it’s worth noting that his credits were similarly obscure when he was first brought on to voice the plumber. He’d been in just a few bit parts in films and TV prior to crossing paths with Nintendo, perhaps most notably appearing as an unnamed reporter in the Dirty Harry film The Dead Pool. Clearly, Nintendo’s still all about bringing in relative unknowns to define the voice of its most popular character. Well, unless a Hollywood movie is involved, I guess.
It’s worth noting that Afghani has only been confirmed for Super Mario Bros. Wonder - there’s no word yet on whether he’ll be the new voice of the Mario brothers going forward. We’ve apparently beenhearing his Mario voice in the Wonder trailers all this time with minimum suspicions from fans, which is a very good first sign.
Nintendo previously said it hadno intention of revealing Mario’s new voice actor until the credits of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, but it seems amassive fandom investigation into the actor’s identity this weekforced the publisher’s hand.
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