Peter Cullen, Voice of Optimus Prime in 'Transformers,' Dies at 85
Peter Cullen, the Canadian voice actor who brought Optimus Prime to life in the Transformers franchise and Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh, has died at 85. He also created sounds for King Kong and the Predator. Cullen's portrayal of Optimus, inspired by his Marine brother, defined the character across films, TV, and games, including the billion-dollar Michael Bay movies.
Be strong enough to be gentle.
- schlauerfox
Here he is telling a powerful story about finding the voice by being inspired by his brother's calm authoritative voice, a Vietnam veteran. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zryfjSaxXLo
- mixmastamyk
Was a bit too old for Transformers when it became popular but even watching a few mins here and there was enough to imprint Optimus’ voice on me. When they hired him for the movies I thought, well of course they did.
Believe that puts him in the same league as James Earl Jones as Mufasa. RIP
- datakan
I hope they retire Optimus Prime the way Baseball teams retire players numbers. Peter Cullen is an act that can't be followed and any attempt to do so will sully the memory.