Peter Cullen
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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, as well as that character's analogues from many subsequent series listed below. His tenure as the character would earn him the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 2023.
In programming that aired adjacent to Transformers, Cullen provided the voice for Challenge of the GoBots characters Pincher, Spoiler, Tank and Block Head; for G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero characters Zandar and Nemesis Enforcer; and from the Visionaries, Cindarr. 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, and the title villain from Predator. He was also the announcer for a number of commercials for the United States Navy in 2007, filling in for Keith David.
Peter, if you're going to be a hero, be a real hero. Be strong enough to be gentle.Peter quoting the advice his late brother, Larry, had on inspiring the voice of Optimus Prime.
Generation 1
- Optimus Prime
- Ironhide
- Streetwise
- Trypticon (Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4 only).
- 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)
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
Movie franchise
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
Aligned
- Optimus Prime
- Nemesis Prime
- Vehicon
- Optimus Prime
- Scientist ("It's a Bot Time")
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
- Optimus Prime
Merchandise
- Universe 25th Anniversary Optimus Prime
- Revenge of the Fallen Leader Class Optimus Prime (and its multiple variants)
- The Last Knight Allspark Tech Starter Pack Optimus Prime (and Shadow Spark Optimus Prime)
- Masterpiece MP-44 Convoy Ver.3.0
- Robosen Collector's Edition Optimus Prime Auto-Converting Robot (and its multiple variants)
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
- 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.[1] 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 "old west hero" character[2] that would inspire Optimus and teach him good leadership qualities, but the idea never came to fruition.[3]
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.[4]
- 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.
- While Cullen already provided some motion capture reference during the Bay-directed films, Optimus's unmasked face in Rise of the Beasts was modeled after Cullen's. A live-action cameo was also left on the cutting room floor in which Cullen would portray Optimus's holo-driver.
References
- ↑ USA Today's chat with Peter Cullen, September 28, 2006
- ↑ "We had an idea that Peter Cullen could play some kind of old west hero that would teach Optimus how to be a stronger leader"—Derrick J. Wyatt, Ask.fm, 2021/07/19
- ↑ "We did have an idea for him to play a mentor character to Optimus [...] Our idea was for him to play a human mentor. [...] The basic idea was the Peter Cullen character would teach Animated Optimus some leadership qualities of G1 Prime"—Derrick J. Wyatt, Ask.fm, 2020/06/17
- ↑ Peter Cullen / Optimus Prime Walk-Of Fame Highlights
