[7][9] In his senior year, he decided to discontinue his studies after a tutor told him to "regurgitate information he'd written in his book, chapter-by-chapter".

[10] Martinet earned the job as Mario's voice at Nintendo when one day in 1991, he was on the beach and received a call from a friend who told him that there was going to be an audition at a trade show in which auditioneers "talk to people as a plumber".

He then thought to himself that it would be too harsh for children to hear, so he made it more soft-hearted and friendly, resulting in what Mario's voice is today.

[15] An opportunity he was not expecting, Martinet agreed immediately, making the trip from Sausalito to Bad Animals Studio in Seattle to record for the game.

Mostly unscripted, Martinet was given examples of what the teams in Japan were looking for by the producers, in addition to improvisation which lead to the creation of many of Mario's catchphrases.

Ultimate, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized Martinet for having performed the same character in one hundred different titles, the most of any video game voice actor.

He voiced the character Vigoro in Sega's Dreamcast and GameCube role-playing video game, Skies of Arcadia.

[18] In addition to video game voiceovers, Martinet has worked as a voice actor in commercials, cartoons, and promotions.

At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) trade show in 2005, Martinet remotely interacted with players from New York in a playable demo of Animal Crossing: Wild World.

[24] Martinet had stated in 2021 that he wanted to voice Mario for the rest of his life, and also said that he would ask Nintendo to find a successor in the case he would think that he won't be able to do it anymore.

[30] As the former voice of Mario, Martinet has become a well-known personality and has made public appearances at several video game related events where he meets fans for chat, photographs, and autographs.

[31] In 2013, Martinet was evicted from his home in Sausalito, California following a legal dispute with the family of the recently deceased landlord.

Dissatisfied with other homes in his price range, Martinet remained homeless for the next five years, focusing his time on game events.

[32] Martinet, having spent a large portion of his youth in Europe, speaks fluent French and Spanish, as well as some Italian.