Peter Cullen

The name or term "Peter" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Peter (disambiguation).

Scarier than Venger and the Predator combined.

Peter Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian-born American actor and voice actor, who has earned fame, respect and admiration as the voice of the original Optimus Prime.

In addition to Transformers, some of Cullen's other roles include Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, Monterey Jack from Chip 'N Dale - Rescue Rangers, Venger from Dungeons & Dragons, K.A.R.R. from Knight Rider, the title villain from Predator, and was the announcer for a number of commercials for the U.S. Navy in 2007, filling in for Keith David.

From the get go, from day one, you know, I had something to work with. I had the influence of a brother - a former Marine - I get to do my brother, because, you know, that's pretty much what he was, that hero, to me.Peter on the influence his late brother, Larry, had on Optimus Prime.

Generation 1

The Transformers

• Optimus Prime
• Ironhide
• Streetwise
• Nightstick
• Slugslinger
• Wingspan

Incidentals

• Joe (More than Meets the Eye, Part 1)
• Giant Autobot (Heavy Metal War)
• Frankenstein's monster (Autobot Spike)
• Optimus Prime clone (A Prime Problem)
• It (The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2)

Transformers: Devastation

• Optimus Prime

Transformers: Titans Return

• Optimus Prime

Transformers: Power of the Primes

• Optimus Prime

Movie franchise

GIVE ME MY FACE

Transformers (2007 movie)

• Optimus Prime

Transformers: The Game

• Optimus Prime

Transformers: Beginnings

• Optimus Prime

Revenge of the Fallen

• Optimus Prime

Revenge of the Fallen: The Game

• Optimus Prime

Dark of the Moon

• Optimus Prime

Dark of the Moon: The Game

• Optimus Prime

Transformers: The Ride – 3D

• Optimus Prime

Age of Extinction

• Optimus Prime

The Last Knight

• Optimus Prime

Bumblebee

• Optimus Prime

Aligned

Transformers: War for Cybertron

• Optimus Prime

Transformers: Prime

• Optimus Prime
• Nemesis Prime
• Vehicon

Transformers: Rescue Bots

• Optimus Prime
• Scientist ("It's a Bot Time")

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

• Optimus Prime

Transformers: Prime - The Game

• Optimus Prime

Transformers Universe

• Optimus Prime

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark

• Optimus Prime

Transformers: Robots in Disguise

• Optimus Prime

Written works

• Transformers Vault (foreword)

Convention appearances

• BotCon 1997
• BotCon 2004
• BotCon 2006
• BotCon 2007
• BotCon 2009
• BotCon 2010
• San Diego Comic-Con 2010
• BotCon 2011
• BotCon 2012
• San Diego Comic-Con 2012
• HasCon 2017
• Hasbro PulseCon 2020

Notes

Now all it needs is a mustache.

Aah, that's the stuff.

• In 1984, Cullen created the voice of Optimus Prime by emulating the mannerisms of his older brother Larry, who had served in the United States Marine Corps in the Vietnam War. Specifically, he based Prime's voice and mannerisms upon Larry's calm, controlled and authoritative approach to serious situations. The Transformers: Prime episode "Partners" was dedicated to his late brother's memory.
• At BotCon 2007, Peter Cullen said he'd love to own one of the three modified Peterbilt 379 trucks used in the filming of Transformers. Let's try and picture Optimus Prime driving himself for a moment. Has your brain exploded yet from the sheer awesomeness?
• Cullen has been included as an Easter Egg in various ways.
  • The mid-range Voyager class Movie Optimus Prime toy (in its many releases) features a non-removable cowboy-hat-bedecked driver figurine that flips out of the seat when the driver's side door is closed. This appears to be based on Peter Cullen himself.
  • In either an artistic case of toy-accuracy, or just Alex Milne having fun, Optimus Prime's holographic driver in Transformers: Alliance #1 is represented with Cullen's likeness.
• He was also the Toonami announcer (or as TOM called him: "The Big Guy") for many years, allowing him to narrate commercials for Armada, Energon and Cybertron. Later, he narrated commercials for Animated, even though it wasn't on Toonami. Because he's Optimus Prime, that's why. However, he did not return to announce Toonami after its revival on May 26, 2012.
• At one point, the Animated crew considered having Cullen play a human character that would inspire Optimus and teach him good leadership qualities, but the idea never came to fruition.
• Cullen was asked to reprise Optimus Prime for the first episode of Robot Chicken, where the character would enact a dramatization that he's dying from prostate cancer. He turned down the offer as he took the role too seriously to make fun of it, which the show's staff respected him for.
• Cullen also provided the voice of the Renegade GoBots Pincher, Spoiler, Tank and Block Head in the Challenge of the GoBots animated series.
• He expressed that he wanted Michael Bay to return for the fifth live-action film when Bay announced he departed from being the director's position.
• Cullen's voice is unmodified and is entirely his own in his role as Prime's Optimus Prime, work for which he received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination in 2011. That's right, guys. You can now describe him as "Emmy Award Nominee Peter Cullen".
• According to DVD commentaries, Cullen was not informed that Prime Optimus would survive the first arc of the third season until the recording session for "Rebellion" came along. Cullen apparently became depressed, worried that kids would go through the same trauma of Optimus dying as kids did in 1986 with the original movie. D'awww.
• On September 30, 2014, Cullen was immortalized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a cement printing ceremony outside of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Optimus Prime was also in attendance and provided his tire marks in lieu of handprints.
• While the evil Shattered Glass version of Optimus Prime has only ever depicted in comics and prose stories, writers Trent Troop and Greg Sepelak have stated that he sounds like Venger, the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon character who was voiced by Peter Cullen.
• Before Bumblebee staff called in Cullen to voice Prime, they had Jon Bailey do Prime's lines as placeholders. Because Prime had already been animated to match Bailey's readings by the time Cullen came in to record the final lines, he was asked to imitate Bailey's imitation of him. Cullen was unhappy having to match Bailey's diction and felt his performance came across as insincere.
• Cullen has been very vocal about his disappointment with Netflix's Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy and their decision to recast the characters with non-union talent. He not only was crushed about not even being approached to reprise his role, but felt the decision set a bad precedent that risked undermining the actor's union.

External links

• Hall of Fame video
• Peter Cullen at the Internet Movie Database