Peter Cullen, Iconic Voice of Optimus Prime, Passes Away at 85

Peter Cullen, the iconic voice behind Optimus Prime for over four decades, has passed away at the age of 85 at his home, as confirmed by his agent. He left this world peacefully, surrounded by his loving family. Cullen was also well-known for voicing Eeyore in numerous Disney productions and served as the narrator for Cartoon Network’s Toonami block.

Born in 1941 in Canada, Cullen first gained recognition as a regular on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour in 1972 before transitioning to voice acting in the late ’70s. In 1984, he lent his voice to characters in Gremlins while also portraying Venger in the early ’80s Dungeons & Dragons cartoon. That same year, his distinctive baritone voice earned him the role of Optimus Prime in the original animated Transformers series, a character he would continue to voice throughout his life.

Cullen’s impressive resume includes the uncredited voice of the Predator in the 1987 classic film, Monterey Jack in Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, and, starting in 1988, the voice of Eeyore in all of Disney’s Winnie the Pooh animations. Beyond these prominent roles, he contributed to a wide array of beloved cartoons, including nostalgic favorites like Snorks, Rainbow Brite, and BraveStarr.

His deep voice became synonymous with Cartoon Network’s Toonami programming block, where he provided narration and promotional voiceovers as the Big Guy from its launch in 1997 until its initial end in 2008.

In 2007, when Michael Bay sought to reboot the Transformers franchise for a live-action series, his first choice for Optimus Prime was Liam Neeson. The animators at ILM were even directed to use Neeson as a reference for the character. However, as Bay revealed in the director’s commentary for the first film, producers insisted on bringing back Peter Cullen to reprise his legendary role. Cullen subsequently voiced the Autobot leader in all of Bay’s films, as well as various tie-in materials, video games, new TV animations, and the post-Bay films, Bumblebee and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

In recent years, Cullen reprised his role as Optimus Prime in Fortnite, made an appearance on The Masked Singer, and voiced Thaedus in Invincible.

His family has released a statement encouraging fans to “honor his remarkable legacy by serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty, and always remember to ‘be strong enough to be gentle.’”