We all know that as the voice of Optimus Prime, Peter Cullen waged a battle to destroy the evil forces of the Deceptions, but who's the man behind the robot?
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00:00We all know that, as the voice of Optimus Prime, Peter Cullen waged a battle to destroy
00:04the evil forces of the Decepticons.
00:07But who's the man behind the robot?
00:09Prepare for battle!
00:11Peter Cullen's voice permeates popular culture, but he didn't start out in the field — at
00:16least, not the one you're thinking of.
00:18Cullen was born in Montreal, Quebec, where he grew up on a farm.
00:21During an interview with NPR in 2014, Cullen recalled the moment he realized that his voice
00:26had power.
00:27I grew up in a full dairy barn where I would collect milk.
00:29I found one day that I made a loud noise and all the cows looked up to me.
00:33I walked down the center of that aisle with these cows looking at me, and I said,
00:36"'This is fantastic!'
00:37I must have been eight years old, and I was the king of the cows."
00:41It's unlikely that Cullen knew the path his life would take at the age of eight, but he
00:44eventually enrolled at the National Theatre School of Canada, graduating with the school's
00:48first class in 1963.
00:51After that, he began working in radio, and soon expanded into television.
00:55While he's mostly known for his impressive vocal skills, Peter Cullen's career also extended
00:59outside of the recording booth.
01:01He started working in radio in the late 60s, appearing on CBC Radio's Funny You Should
01:06Say That.
01:07He soon transitioned into on-camera acting, appearing in the 1969 children's show The
01:11Buddies while continuing to work as a radio announcer on nights and weekends.
01:15He also appeared in several TV series, off and on, through the end of the 1960s and well
01:20into the 70s.
01:21Some of his notable credits during this period include appearances on Comedy Café, Zoot,
01:26and playing multiple characters on the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.
01:29As he continued landing gig after gig, Cullen found roles in more popular series.
01:34He spent a couple years working as the announcer for the Smothers Brothers' Comedy Hour, and
01:38he landed similar gigs with The Bobby Gentry Show and other comedy series.
01:42That work opened the door to voicing characters, and before long, that became Cullen's true
01:47calling.
01:48While you probably know Peter Cullen's voice best through his work with Transformers, that's
01:52hardly the only voice acting role he's had over nearly six decades and over 200 credits.
01:57Among his credits are Red Skull, Hulk, Mysterio, and a few other characters in various 80s
02:02Spider-Man animated series.
02:04Now sleep while you can, Captain America.
02:08Your nightmare is just beginning.
02:10Along with various villain voices and different incarnations of Scooby-Doo in the 80s, and
02:15Zandar in the iconic G.I.
02:17Joe cartoon from the same decade.
02:19Late 80s kids may recognize Cullen as Monterey Jack from Rescue Rangers, but it may be a
02:24terminally depressed donkey that's Cullen's most cross-generational character.
02:28Cullen began voicing Eeyore from The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in 1988, which he did for
02:3331 episodes.
02:35But Disney wasn't ready to replace Cullen when the next Winnie the Pooh project came
02:38along.
02:39Here we go again.
02:41Cullen voiced Eeyore in 42 separate productions over a period of 29 years.
02:46Most recently, Cullen returned to voice Eeyore in an episode of Doc McStuffins, but he's
02:50reprised her role in various films as well.
02:52Cullen's Eeyore voice has appeared in at least three video games, and named the character
02:56as his second favorite to voice in a Collider interview, saying,
02:59"...I loved the characters that were easiest to do, that didn't require a lot of screaming
03:03and yelling, and stuff like that.
03:05Because screaming and yelling, it's hard work.
03:07But my favorite, outside of Prime, was Eeyore."
03:09In addition to his animated work, Cullen has stepped into recording booths to voice a pretty
03:13big selection of live-action characters.
03:15Though Howie Mandel provided the voice of Gizmo in Gremlins, Cullen lent his voice to
03:19a bunch of other Mogwai in Gremlins.
03:21He also provided some roaring for the 1976 remake of King Kong, though he was initially
03:27uncredited.
03:28That role almost came at a great cost, though, as it required a lot of loud, guttural screaming.
03:32As he later told Collider,
03:33"...I had been coughing up blood because it demanded so much.
03:36Anyway, a couple hours after that, I had to go and do Optimus Prime.
03:39I don't know how I pulled it off, but I think Optimus Prime sounded about an octave and
03:44a half higher than he normally did."
03:45One of the most surprising characters that Cullen voiced is the title monster in Predator.
03:49Uncredited in the role, he gave the Predator a distinctive voice in the form of clicking
03:54sounds, and few knew it came from the same mouth that brought Optimus Prime to life.
03:58Peter Cullen began voicing Optimus Prime in 1984, with the first episode of Transformers.
04:04He explained to Collider how he based Prime's voice on his brother, Larry, a former U.S.
04:08Marine Corps captain who served in Vietnam.
04:10Cullen told his brother that he was auditioning for a hero truck, but didn't have more information.
04:15His brother told him,
04:16"...Peter, if you're gonna be a hero, be a real hero.
04:18Don't be one of those Hollywood pretenders.
04:20Don't go yelling and screaming and pretending you're a tough guy.
04:23Be strong enough to be gentle."
04:25That stuck with him, so when he got to the audition, his brother's words made a difference.
04:29He got there and mimicked his brother's voice.
04:31"...Autobots, transforms, and roll out!"
04:35Three weeks later, Cullen landed the job that would define his professional career for the
04:39next four decades.
04:41Peter Cullen couldn't have known how popular Optimus Prime would become when he booked
04:44that first gig, since cartoons don't often have the kind of cultural clout that the Transformers
04:49would eventually earn.
04:50It's the Transformers that have endured beyond similar productions like GoBots and Robotics,
04:55both of which Peter Cullen also lent his voice to.
04:57Cullen has voiced Optimus Prime for decades in television series, video games, toys, and
05:03movies.
05:04Things didn't look so bright when the role initially ended in 1987.
05:08Then to many fans' surprise and joy, Cullen returned for Michael Bay's 2007 live-action
05:13Transformers film.
05:14"...They deserve to choose for themselves!"
05:17He's continued to voice the character in numerous video games and every live-action Transformers
05:22movie produced since then.
05:23As of 2023's Rise of the Beasts, Cullen has voiced Optimus Prime in over 30 productions.
05:30Peter Cullen and Optimus Prime are an iconic and irreplaceable match, but Cullen hasn't
05:34voiced the character every time.
05:36Notably, Cullen no longer performs the character on television.
05:39This is because Hasbro opted to hire only non-union workers when it developed Transformers
05:44Cyberverse.
05:45Once Cullen was out, they brought Jake Foushee in to play Prime, and he's continued voicing
05:49the character in Rescue Bots Academy, the Transformers Battlegrounds video game, and
05:53the War for Cybertron trilogy on Netflix.
05:56Cullen discussed being replaced during a convention appearance in 2020 and compared it to Grand
06:00Theft, specifically calling out Netflix for not hiring union workers.
06:04Longtime Transformers fans were nothing short of furious.
06:07Cullen also recounted how insult was added to injury.
06:10He was called in for the Bumblebee movie after the film initially hired another actor, with
06:14Cullen having to impersonate the previous actor.
06:17"...do not grieve, soon I shall be one with the Matrix."
06:25If you're familiar with Optimus Prime, you know that he's an imposing figure.
06:29But there's not really anything about Prime that's physically similar to Peter Cullen.
06:33One is a giant transforming robot who's sometimes a truck, and one is an 80-plus-year-old human
06:38actor.
06:39Still, it's not uncommon for animated characters to feature some aspects of an actor's appearance.
06:43Optimus Prime didn't look a thing like Cullen for most of his history, but that all changed
06:47with the release of Transformers Rise of the Beast.
06:50Instead of using the same model for Optimus Prime's face that was used in previous productions,
06:54the animators decided it was time to honor the man who gave Prime his distinctive voice.
06:58The VFX artist who animated Prime modeled his face after Cullen, honoring him in a spectacular
07:03way.
07:04This was revealed by director Stephen Caple Jr., featuring a side-by-side comparison.
07:08When looking at Prime alone, it's not entirely clear that he's modeled after Cullen, but
07:12seeing the two side-by-side clinches it.
07:14His facial features are slightly more human than they've been presented in the past, and
07:18Prime even features a portion of his upper lip that resembles Cullen's iconic mustache.
07:24It's undeniable that The Transformers has had an impact on popular culture that's lasted
07:28long past its initial comic book and television series.
07:31Since then, the robotic property has come to dominate multiple areas of pop culture,
07:36including a feature film franchise that's raked in over $5 billion in global ticket
07:41sales.
07:42There's also the never-ending toy line, which is one of Hasbro's most profitable properties.
07:46"...robots in disguise."
07:47"...we're under attack!"
07:48"...it's the Decepticons!"
07:49That's a lot of cash from a franchise that began in the pages of Marvel Comics and on
07:54Saturday morning television.
07:56Peter Cullen's impact on the franchise helped make it the pop culture phenomenon it is today.
08:00To honor his contributions to film, Cullen was invited to the TCL Chinese Theater in
08:05Los Angeles in 2014 to place his handprints in concrete, along with his signature to forever
08:10immortalize his name in relation to the filmmaking arts.
08:13The handprint ceremony was done in conjunction with the release of Transformers Age of Extinction
08:18on home video, so there were plenty of impressive props and models from the film on hand to
08:22underscore Cullen's impressive work with the popular franchise.
08:27That's not the only honor Cullen has received for playing the powerful robot leader.
08:31Among his other awards are a Daytime Emmy Award nomination and a Lifetime Achievement
08:35Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
08:38One of his most notable achievements came in 2010, with the establishment of the Transformers
08:43Hall of Fame, established by Hasbro to honor the people behind the characters, as well
08:47as the characters themselves.
08:49Cullen was among the first humans inducted into the Transformers Hall of Fame at the
08:52annual BotCon, held in Orlando, Florida.
08:55"...you hear him say, Autobots transform and roll out, and there's like chills that go
09:00up your spine."
09:01Hasbro threw together an impressive induction video, noting his many performances with a
09:06focus on Optimus Prime.
09:08Cullen was honored alongside Marvel Comics writer Bob Budiansky, project designer Yo-Kei
09:13Hideaki, and toy designer Kojin Ono.
09:16Alongside the humans, five Transformers were also honored — Optimus Prime, Megatron,
09:20Bumblebee, Starscream, and Dinobot.
09:24Peter Cullen has worked alongside many other talented voice actors, but the one he's collaborated
09:28with more than most is Frank Welker, the voice of Megatron, the arch-nemesis of Optimus Prime.
09:34"...I don't like that.
09:36I don't like that at all."
09:39Like Cullen, the prolific Frank Welker has played the character across numerous productions,
09:43though he's also voiced other characters like Soundwave, Wheelie, and Rumble.
09:47He's also voiced Megatron in live-action, beginning with Transformers The Last Knight
09:51in 2017.
09:52Despite playing mortal enemies in their respective roles, Cullen and Welker are the best of friends
09:57and first worked together on Mighty Man and Yurk in 1979.
10:01Welker himself is one of the most well-traveled voice actors alive today, with almost 900
10:06credits, notably including decades of playing Fred Jones on Scooby-Doo.
10:09"...You're under arrest."
10:10"...No, I'm not!"
10:12He also played Slimer on The Real Ghostbusters, and of course, voices on Robotics and GoBots
10:17as well, just like Peter Cullen.
10:19When Cullen received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Children's and Family Emmys in
10:232023, Welker was the one who introduced Cullen and presented him with the award, which he
10:27himself received in 2016.