Peter Cullen, the legendary voice actor best known for bringing Optimus Prime to life in the “Transformers” franchise, has died at the age of 85.
Cullen died Wednesday at his Los Angeles home, according to his agent, Kevin Motley.
The actor’s family said Cullen “passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family — and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide.”
His family encouraged fans to honor Cullen’s legacy by serving their communities and leading others with “compassion, integrity and loyalty,” while remembering one of the principles associated with the actor and Optimus Prime: “be strong enough to be gentle.”
Born in Montreal in 1941, Cullen became inseparable from Optimus Prime after first voicing the Autobot leader in the animated television series “The Transformers,” which debuted in 1984.
Cullen later recalled that he knew relatively little about the character when he initially auditioned.
“I auditioned like everybody else,” Cullen told NPR in 2014. “I was told it was a hero, and I was told it was a truck.”
He landed the role, creating the deep and commanding voice that would define Optimus Prime for generations.
Cullen continued portraying the character throughout the original animated series and voiced him in the 1986 film “The Transformers: The Movie.”
Optimus was killed during the film following a confrontation with Megatron, a decision that stunned young viewers and generated backlash. The character was eventually resurrected in the animated series.
Cullen would return to his signature role decades later when director Michael Bay brought “Transformers” to the big screen as a live-action franchise.
The actor voiced Optimus Prime in the 2007 blockbuster starring Shia LaBeouf, which earned approximately $709.7 million worldwide.
Cullen said returning to the character after so many years felt natural.
“I describe it as kind of slipping into an old pair of very comfortable shoes that you haven’t worn for a while,” Cullen told IGN in 2007. “I just slipped right into them, and they felt as good as the last time I put them on.”
He subsequently returned for “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” in 2009, “Dark of the Moon” in 2011 and “Age of Extinction” in 2014.
The latter two films each surpassed $1.1 billion at the worldwide box office.
Cullen continued voicing Optimus in “The Last Knight” in 2017, “Bumblebee” in 2018 and “Rise of the Beasts” in 2023, in addition to numerous television series and video games.
His career, however, stretched well beyond “Transformers.”
Cullen became another familiar voice to generations of children when he began portraying Eeyore in Disney’s “The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,” which ran from 1988 to 1991. He continued voicing the famously gloomy donkey in numerous Disney projects, according to Trending Politics.
The actor once described how children would react when he unexpectedly spoke to them in Eeyore’s voice.
“I get an awful lot of reactions from, especially, young kids, when I go up and just say [in Eeyore’s voice], ‘Hello. Thanks for noticing me,’” Cullen said.
His extensive credits also included providing vocal effects for King Kong in the 1976 remake and voicing K.A.R.R. on “Knight Rider.”
Cullen also created the distinctive clicking sounds associated with the alien creature in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1987 science-fiction action film “Predator.”
Before becoming a voice-acting icon, Cullen worked as a performer and announcer on programs including “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” and “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.”
He graduated as part of the National Theatre School of Canada’s inaugural class in 1963 and studied under operatic coach Bernard Diamant. He also performed Shakespeare before establishing his career in voice acting.
Over the following decades, Cullen transformed what began as an audition to voice an animated truck into one of the most recognizable performances in animation and blockbuster cinema.
His portrayal of Optimus Prime ultimately spanned more than 40 years, making Cullen the defining voice of the heroic Autobot leader for generations of “Transformers” fans.
