Chris Pratt says his ‘Super Mario Bros.’ accent originally sounded too much like Tony Soprano

‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ actor Chris Pratt says his Italian accent needed some improving before he could convincingly voice the role of Mario in the film. The film has gathered quite a bit of online criticism from long-time fans of the game, who were hoping to see the original voice actor, Charles Martinet, as Mario.

The ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ actor, however, has confirmed that he had to try out different versions of the Mario voice before finding something the producers liked. Fans who anticipated the movie would use an exaggerated Italian accent similar to the video games may be surprised by the toned-down version used in the film, which hit theaters on April 5, 2023.

Pratt spoke with costars Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, and Charlie Day for Entertainment Weekly’s ‘Around the Table’ segment on Thursday. Pratt got candid about how it was difficult for him to find his inner Mario in the interview.

The ‘Tony Soprano’ accent

“For a minute, I walked in and they were like, ‘That’s a little New Jersey. You’re doing a Tony Soprano thing,’” Pratt said during the roundtable. Not only did Pratt have trouble nailing the accent but Costar Day, who voices Luigi also explained his struggles.

“We tried different things, different voices,” Day said. “Every now and then they would say, ‘Charlie, maybe a little less ‘Goodfellas’ in this one’ — I’m like, ‘Alright! I think you’re wrong but fine!’ — until they landed on something they liked.”

Initial excitement

Pratt also explains the initial excitement when first signing onto the movie.

“It was a really exciting and daunting challenge,” Pratt said. “Talking to these guys, they say, ‘You wanna do the Mario movie?’ I think both of us said yes. Didn’t even ask, ‘What’s the deal? What’s the story?’ ‘Yes, I’m in.’”

Pratt continued, “And then we had to really dig in and figure out, Are they Italian? Are they American? We know a little bit about Charles Martinet’s voice that he’s sprinkled in there with the ‘Wahoo!’ and ‘It’s-a me!’ and these Mario things, but how do you craft a 90-minute narrative with an emotional through-line and create a living, breathing person about who you’ll care?”