The 'Shroom:Issue 111/Mercedes Rose Interview
Hi, everyone! I am your Statistics Manager, Tucayo, here with a very special interview for this Special Issue. I had the opportunity to conduct an email interview with none other than Mercedes Rose, the original voice actress for Rosalina, who was kind enough to answer my questions. Mercedes voiced Rosalina in Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart Wii, and Super Mario Galaxy 2 and she is still very much appreciated by Nintendo and Rosalina fans everywhere.
Did you play Mario games as a kid? Or video games in general?
Mercedes Rose: I actually did not! I had never even seen a Mario game before I got the role of princess Rosalina. The only video game ever played as a kid was Pac-Man and space invaders!
What was the process of getting the role of voicing Rosalina?
MR: I booked Rosalina the same way I get the majority of my voice roles. My agent sent out the big breakdown of what to Nintendo was looking for in the new character and A sample of some of the lines they needed and I just gave it my all! Since princess Rosalina was described as the mother of the lumas, I figured I would just turn on my natural mom voice! I guess it worked...
Is there anything in particular that attracted you to this character?
MR: I liked that her name was Rosalina! I also liked that she was the first new princess for Mario in many many years. Plus, I think of myself as a princess it seem like a natural fit!
You debuted Rosalina; how much of yourself was put into her personality?
MR: I actually think a lot of myself went into it. I am a mother and a princess so it seemed like a natural fit.
Was it your decision to stop voicing Rosalina?
MR: It was not. And thank you for letting me clear that up. I get emails from frustrated fans on a weekly basis asking me to please come back. It was never my decision. Nintendo just does that sometimes.
Was it fun to work for Nintendo?
MR: It was. They're a great company and it opened a lot of doors for other voice over gigs because I had that on my resume. Plus I get a lot of cool fan mail! Nintendo fans are awesome!
Would you do more voice-overs for them?
MR: I would if the opportunity presented itself.
As well as voice-overs, you have also done acting, producing, writing, and motivational entertainment, as seen on your IMDb page and your website. Is there any of these you particularly favor? Or any you want to do more of?
MR: I consider myself a Creative Entrepreneur and I love it! I've worked hard to have a career in show business without leaving my beloved home in Oregon. My oldest daughter and I have a production company together and my other kids work with us too. Having a family run business in the film and television industry is a literal dream come true. I love Hollywood but never wanted to live there and the fact that I don't have to is just icing on the cake! One of the shows I produce and co-star in, The Haunting of Sunshine Girl, is currently a popular YouTube channel but is making the move to television next year. So I'm pretty excited about that!
I want to give a big thanks to Mercedes for taking some of her time to answer my questions! Mercedes' career goes far beyond Mario games, so if you want to see more of her work, you should check out The Haunting of Sunshine Girl on YouTube, as well as her official website. We wish her great success in The Haunting of Sunshine Girl's move to television! Be sure to tune in when it airs!
