HOLLYWOOD, CA – SEPTEMBER 30: Voiceover actor Peter Cullen at the Optimus Prime hand and footprint ceremony held at TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX on September 30, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
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Peter Cullen, the Canadian voice actor whose deep, measured baritone gave Optimus Prime his voice across four decades of the Transformers franchise, died at his Los Angeles home He was 85. No cause of death was confirmed, and the passing was first reported by TMZ.
His family said in a statement, “Peter Cullen passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family — and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide. His family asks that you honor his remarkable legacy by serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty, and always remember: be strong enough to be gentle.”
That last phrase — “be strong enough to be gentle” — was the advice Cullen’s brother Larry gave him when he auditioned for the role of Optimus Prime in 1984. Cullen based the character’s voice on Larry, a Marine veteran, deciding that a true leader’s strength should carry warmth rather than aggression. The audition won him the long-running role.
Peter Cullen’s Career Beyond Optimus Prime
Cullen’s animation career began well before Transformers, voicing characters across Pac-Man, Rainbow Brite, Voltron, The Addams Family, and Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers as Monterey Jack, and provided the vocal effects of the Predator in the ep 1987 film of the same name. He was also the voice of Eeyore in Disney’s Winnie the Pooh properties for years, a role he described as among his favourites. Disney later turned to Brad Garrett for a couple of 2018 productions, though Cullen remained the character’s primary voice elsewhere.
When Michael Bay’s live-action Transformers film series launched in 2007, Cullen returned to Optimus Prime after around two decades away from the character. He described to IGN that reprising the role as “slipping into a very old, very comfortable pair of shoes.” He went on to voice Prime in every subsequent film in the Bay series, including Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon, Age of Extinction, The Last Knight, as well as the animated series Transformers: Prime and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts in 2023.
Peter Cullen’s death follows multiple losses in the entertainment and culture industry worldwide this month, including Hayden Panettiere, Yayoi Kusama, Tim Curry and Dolly Parton (the latter three announced just this week).