Super Mario is "who I want to be as a man," says legendary voice actor Charles Martinet: "Kind, passionate, always optimistic"

Charles Martinet, the man who voiced all of Super Mario's wahoos and let's-a-go and it's-a-me quips for well over three decades, says the red-hatted plumber is who he aspires to be as a person.

Not in the sense that he wants to become a mushroom-eating Italian/Japanese plumber who dabbles as a doctor, acrobat, golfer, and general multi-threat, that is, but the iconic voice actor thinks the world could always use some more of Mario's best qualities.

Speaking on the Nintendo Today app in a recent Q&A video, Marinet says the character who left "the strongest impression" on him from the series is, of course, Mario. "Because everything about Mario is someone I want to be like," he explains. "Kind, passionate, always optimistic, facing adversity with a 'let's-a go!' [These are] the sort of characteristics I think the whole world needs more of, and it's certainly who I want to be as a man and as a human being."

On the flip side, when asked about which enemy character had the biggest impact on him personally, Martinet says, "Oh, Wario. [Wario noises]. I particularly love Wario, you know, he thinks that this golden thing is his throne, but it's not a throne. And the joke is always on him, so I love that about Wario."

And, finally, the iconic actor reveals that his favorite bit of Mario memorabilia isn't a mug or hat or one of the other bajillion pieces of official Nintendo merch - it's actually a little music box made by a fan that plays the Super Mario Bros. theme. "And I just think of you know Koji Kondo and Mr Miyamoto, and the entire experience of my life, hearing those beautiful sounds," Martinet says. Heartwarming, indeed.

Charles Martinet voiced the mascot platformer and a selection of other characters in the wider Mario canon for well over 30 years, before retiring as a brand ambassador and handing the reins over to Kevin Afghani, who has now taken over in the games since Super Mario Bros. Wonder's release.

Iconic Mario voice actor "didn't know anything about video games" in his audition, so he did what anyone would do and "just made things up about food and started talking"