Here’s Mario’s new voice actor
By Ash Parrish, a reporter who has covered the business, culture, and communities of video games for seven years. Previously, she worked at Kotaku.
After months of speculation, conspiracy theories, and false alarms, we finally know the name of Mario’s new voice actor: Kevin Afghani. On Friday, Afghani announced the news on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “Incredibly proud to have voiced Mario and Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Thanks to Nintendo for inviting me into the Flower Kingdom!”
Nintendo confirmed the news in an email, saying simply, “The voice actor’s name is Kevin Afghani.” The news comes after iconic voice actor Charles Martinet stepped away from the role in August to become a Mario ambassador.
Nintendo has been secretive about who the new voice actor would be, saying that it would reveal the actor in the credits of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Rumors circulated naming several actors as the titular plumber, including Mark Wingert, who later denied that he was playing Mario in Wonder. Earlier this week,VGC reported that a demo version of the game had been datamined, revealing the voice talent in the game. Though the list is arranged in alphabetical order by last name, Afghani is, coincidentally, at the top of the list. Below is a demo reel from Afghani or you can just watch the Wonder trailer again to get an idea of what he sounds like.
”Kevin Afghani animation demo”
Afghani’s IMDb page is relatively sparse, with six credits and no standout roles. He played Raditz in the Dragon Ball R&R series, voiced Arnold in Genshin Impact, and did a voice in a show hilariously titled Anime Penguin: Red Snow.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder launches on the Nintendo Switch on October 20th.
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