Peter Cullen, the legendary voice actor behind Optimus Prime and Eeyore, has died at the age of 85.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Cullen died on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, with his agent Kevin Motley confirming the news to The Hollywood Reporter.
Across a remarkable career, the Canadian actor became inseparable from some of entertainment’s most recognisable characters, most famously transforming Optimus Prime into the commanding and compassionate leader known to generations of Transformers fans.
His family said Cullen “passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family — and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide.”
They have asked “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’.”
Born Peter Claver Cullen in Montreal on July 28, 1941, his talent for creating distinctive sounds emerged early. He remembered spending time on a relative’s farm and discovering an ability to imitate the animals around him.
After graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada in 1963, Cullen worked in radio and television before heading to Hollywood, where his early credits included The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.
But the role that would define his career arrived in the 1980s.
Recalling his first encounter with Optimus Prime, Cullen said: “I auditioned like everybody else. I was told it was a hero, and I was told it was a truck.”
He first voiced the Autobot leader in the 1984-87 animated series The Transformers. The character’s death in The Transformers: The Movie in 1986 sparked such an outcry that Optimus was subsequently brought back.
Cullen revealed that the voice itself was inspired by his older brother Larry, a decorated US Marine who served in Vietnam.
More than two decades after first playing the character, Cullen returned for Michael Bay’s live-action Transformers in 2007.
He continued as Optimus across blockbuster sequels including Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon, Age of Extinction and The Last Knight, as well as Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts. His work on Transformers: Prime also earned him a Daytime Emmy nomination.
Yet Optimus represented only one side of Cullen’s extraordinary range.
From 1988, he became the voice of the permanently gloomy Eeyore in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, continuing to portray the beloved donkey across numerous projects.
His credits stretched even further, including Monterey Jack in Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, characters in the Voltron franchise and K.A.R.R. in Knight Rider. He also created the frightening clicking sounds of the creature in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Predator.
Cullen is survived by his children Angus, Claire, Pilar and Clay.
Featured image credit: Paramount Pictures / YouTube (screenshot)
