Kenneth W. James

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Kenneth W. James
Kenneth W. James wearing a Bowser shirt
Full name Kenneth Wendell James
Born July 14, 1963[1] (age 61)
Super Mario–related role(s) Current voice actor for Bowser and Dry Bowser
“When performing Bowser in the studio I tend to make claw hands. Somehow it helps me sound like a monster!”
—Kenny James

Kenneth W. "Kenny" James is the current voice actor for Bowser, replacing Scott Burns. His debut was in Super Mario Strikers, in which he voiced Bowser and the Super Team, and he has voiced Bowser regularly since Super Mario Galaxy. Despite this, the voice of Scott Burns (James's predecessor) was still sometimes used for Bowser in subsequent games such as Mario Strikers Charged, Mario Party DS, Mario Super Sluggers, and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games.

In 2009, James returned to voice Bowser in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. In 2010, James continued to voice Bowser in Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Mario Sports Mix. As of now, he is the only voice actor of Bowser and continues to voice the character, as well as having voiced Dry Bowser (as of Mario Kart Wii), Paper Bowser, Mini Bowser, Dark Bowser, and Dreamy Bowser.

Though James does not voice Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie by Illumination and Universal Pictures, in which the character is voiced by Jack Black instead, Bowser's grunts heard during his conversation with Kamek and when he breaks free from the ice, as well as one of his roars during the final battle in Brooklyn, are reused voice clips of James's portrayal of Bowser.

History[edit]

Kenny James, voice of Bowser
Kenny James performing in a studio

Kenneth W. James was born in Nevada, but he grew up in Texas. In 1988, James began singing and was later the lead singer in several bands before becoming active in community theater. In 2001, James started doing voiceover work, with Bowser being one of the first roles for which he auditioned and was chosen.

James has been a fan of video games since playing the arcade game Pong. His first Nintendo games were Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt on the NES, and he later played more games on that system. Outside of video games, James has voiced characters in two different online Doctor Who audio series and has done several other audio books. When portraying Bowser, James often makes claw hands to help him sound like a monster.

Portrayals[edit]

Gallery[edit]

  • Voice Actor Kenneth W James.jpg

Trivia[edit]

  • Kenny James's favorite game on the Wii is Mario Kart Wii.[3]
  • While recording for Meowser, Kenny James strained his voice so badly that he could taste blood as doing Bowser hurts his voice and he had been recording for two hours.[4]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Kenny's Instagram post
  2. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2146730/
  3. ^ As confirmed via email by Kenny James: "My first Nintendo games were Super Mario Bros and Duck Hunt. Then I really liked playing the games on the Super NES. My favorite on the Wii is Mario Kart Wii. I have to admit I haven't played 3D World. I'd love to see how the Cat Bowser turned out. During recording we called him Meowser". (March 20, 2016)
  4. ^ “Bowser is no easy character to voice, especially (Meowser,) he was the most difficult in a way that I could taste blood when I was finished with the recording session,” he told Arab News Japan. – August 19, 2020. Kenny James: The man behind the voice of ‘Bowser’ from Nintendo’s Super Mario franchise. Arab News Japan. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
[Edit]
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† Deceased
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