Peter Cullen, the Canadian voice actor best known for bringing Optimus Prime to life across decades of Transformers films, television series and video games, has died at 85.
Cullen died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, his agent Kevin Motley told The Hollywood Reporter.
He “passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family — and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide,” his family said in a statement.
They asked fans to honor his legacy by “serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity and loyalty” and to remember one of his most famous lines: “be strong enough to be gentle.”
Born in Montreal in 1941, Cullen became one of the most recognizable voices in animation. He first voiced Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, in the 1984-87 animated series The Transformers.
He would return to the character repeatedly over the next four decades, including in the Michael Bay film franchise beginning with Transformers in 2007.
Cullen once said he approached the role with little idea of what producers wanted.
“I auditioned like everybody else,” he told NPR in 2014. “I was told it was a hero, and I was told it was a truck.”
The role became inseparable from him.
When Optimus Prime was killed in The Transformers: The Movie in 1986, the backlash from fans was so intense that the character was brought back, along with Cullen, soon afterward.
Two decades later, when the franchise returned to theaters, Cullen resumed the role almost effortlessly.
“I describe it as kind of slipping into an old pair of very comfortable shoes that you haven’t worn for a while,” he said in 2007. “I just slipped right into them, and they felt as good as the last time I put them on.”
Peter Cullen voiced Optimus Prime in 2014’s ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’
With Cullen voicing Optimus, Transformers became one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises. He returned for Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon, Age of Extinction, The Last Knight, Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts.
His performance in the animated series Transformers: Prime also earned him a Daytime Emmy nomination.
Cullen said the voice of Optimus was inspired by his older brother Larry, a decorated U.S. Marine who served in Vietnam.
“When he came home, I could see a change. He was quieter and he was a man and a superhero to me,” Cullen said in 2006. “I watched him and listened to him. I’d never had an opportunity to do a superhero, and when that came, [that voice] just came right out of me, and I sounded like Optimus.”
More than Optimus Prime
Cullen’s career stretched far beyond Transformers.
He voiced Eeyore on The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and in numerous other Winnie the Pooh productions.
“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,’” he once said.
He also voiced King Kong for the 1976 remake, the villainous K.A.R.R. on Knight Rider and characters in Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, Voltron, Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
One of his most unusual contributions came in Predator in 1987, where he created the alien creature’s distinctive clicking sound.
Cullen said he insisted on seeing the creature before recording because he needed a visual reference.
“If I can’t see the character, I don’t know what I’m gonna do. I have to have something to relate to, to put myself inside of,” he said.
“I saw this ugly, ugly face and these tentacles [moving around]. It reminded me of an upside-down horseshoe crab dying in the sun on a beach when I was a kid. Nasty.”
From theater training to Hollywood
Cullen graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada in 1963 and trained as a stage actor before moving into radio, television and voice work.
Early in his career, he appeared on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and other variety programs.
He later built a vast voice-acting career that spanned animation, live-action projects, commercials and video games.
Cullen is survived by his children Angus, Claire, Pilar and Clay.
Reflecting on the lasting reach of Transformers, Cullen once said: “The phenomenon of Transformers itself is mind-shaking.”
“Being a part of it is not only historical, it’s a part of your life that says, ‘Gee, I’m glad.’ I did something in my life that stood out, and I’m really grateful for that. Humbled by it.”