Legendary voice actor Peter Cullen, who found humanity in aliens and brought fantasy to life, has died, TMZ reports. The definitive voice of Optimus Prime and a generation’s Eeyore was 85.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Cullen began his career in CBC comedy sketches before becoming an announcer on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967. His first iconic beast came as the title character in 1976’s King Kong, but it wasn’t until the ’80s that he found his niche as one of the top voice actors in Hollywood.
He became Marvel’s regular for Red Skull and an occasional Bruce Banner/Hulk, voiced K.A.R.R. in Knightrider, showed up as countless additional voices across Scooby Doo franchises, and in 1984, landed a role that he would continue playing for the rest of his life: Optimus Prime in Transformers.
As Cullen noted in Transformers Vault: The Complete Transformers Universe Showcasing Rare Collectibles and Memorabilia, he based the character of Optimus Prime on his older brother Larry, who had served in Vietnam. He recalled Larry telling him, “Peter, don’t be a Hollywood hero, be a real hero. Real heroes don’t yell and act tough; they’re tough enough to be gentle, so control yourself.” Cullen returned as Optimus Prime in Michael Bay’s 2007 live-action reboot and played the character for another two decades.
He also vocalized the Predator in Predator and became a regular guest on animated Ghostbusters shows. He booked minor roles on Duck Tales, TaleSpin, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and landed a recurring spot as Monterrey Jack in Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers. In 1988, he booked yet another role that he would play for almost 30 years, Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh. His final appearance as the despondent donkey came in 2017, in the Doc McStuffins episode, “Into the 100 Acre Wood.”
Cullen continued working well into his 80s. Perhaps his final appearance as Optimus Prime came on The Masked Singer in 2024, and he spent seven episodes as Thaedus in Invincible from 2024 until 2026.
