Peter Cullen, voice of Transformers’ Optimus Prime, dies at 85
Cullen’s career began in radio before he transitioned to television, serving as the announcer for 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour' and 'The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'
Author of the article
enette Wilford
Published Aug 28, 2026 • Last updated 21 hours ago • 2 minute read
Canadian actor Peter Cullen arrives for Paramount's "Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts" premiere in New York City on June 5, 2023.
Canadian actor Peter Cullen arrives for Paramount's "Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts" premiere in New York City on June 5, 2023. Photo by Angela Weiss/AFP /Getty Images
Peter Cullen, the Canadian actor best known for voicing Optimus Prime in dozens of Transformers projects, has died. He was 85.
The Montreal native, who also provided the voice of Eeyore in a number of Winnie the Pooh productions, “passed away peacefully” on Wednesday at his Los Angeles home, his agent, Kevin Motley, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Cullen was “surrounded by his loving family — and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide,” his family said in a statement, per the outlet.
Their only request was to “honour his remarkable legacy by serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity and loyalty and always remember ‘be strong enough to be gentle.’”
A voice to be remembered
Cullen’s career began in radio, on Montreal station CKGM, before he transitioned to television, serving as the announcer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour from 1967 to 1968, and The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour in 1972.
He then voiced King Kong for the 1976 remake, provided the terrifying sounds that emerged from the mouth of the monster in 1987’s Predator, and voiced the evil K.A.R.R. (Knight Automated Roving Robot) on Knight Rider in 1982 and again in 2009, in the series’ short-lived reboot.
More than meets the eye
But Optimus Prime was far and away his biggest, most beloved role, so much so that when the leader of the Autobots was killed by Megatron in The Transformers: The Movie in 1986, fans caused an uproar, resulting in the character being brought back to life the following year in The Transformers: The Return of Optimus Prime.
Cullen was hired by director Michael Bay two decades later for live-action film Transformers, starring alongside Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox and Josh Duhamel.
Returning to the voice was like “slipping into an old pair of very comfortable shoes that you haven’t worn for a while,” he described to IGN in 2007.
“I just slipped right into them, and they felt as good as the last time I put them on.”
His inspiration
In 2015, at the Calgary Comic Expo, Cullen explained how his brother Larry inspired the voice of Optimus.
He detailed how Larry was a U.S. Marine who had seen real action and received medals for his valour.
Cullen recalled standing in the voice booth for the first time and looking at his script, and how his brother told him a real hero was “strong enough to be gentle.”
Dubious a claim as it might be in a movie season featuring Johnny Depp, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Mike Myers, and Tobey Maguire, the biggest star of ...
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The theater-trained Canadian also created sounds for King Kong and the Predator and portrayed Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh’s pal.
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Peter Cullen, the Canadian actor best known for voicing Optimus Prime in dozens of Transformers projects, has died. He was 85. Read on.
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