He had returned from service as a Marine in Vietnam, and I told him one day I was going out to audition for a truck.Īnd I said, “Yeah, but he’s a hero truck.” I was living with my brother Larry at the time. I was told it was a hero, and I was told it was a truck. On landing the role of Optimus Prime in the 1980s cartoon And I walked down the center of that aisle with these cows looking at me and I said, “This is fantastic.” I must have been 8 years old … and I was the king of the cows. So I did something like, “And now that I have your attention!” And they all looked up. I found one day that I made a loud noise and all the cows looked up to me. And one of the greatest memories I have is, I had a full dairy barn where I would collect milk pails with my brother, Larry. And I remember the very first summer, I could imitate the cows, the calves, the chickens, the different dogs they had. I lived on a farm, and I worked the farm. On when he realized he had a talent for doing voices He tells Rath that of the many characters he has played over the years, a certain giant, extraterrestrial robot is still his favorite. In an interview with NPR’s Arun Rath, Cullen says playing Optimus Prime again was “like slipping into an old pair of shoes that you hid in the back of your closet.”Ĭullen got his big break as the announcer on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour in the early 1970s, and famously voiced Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh. Voice actor Peter Cullen arrives at the premiere of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in June 2009. Other actors have played Optimus Prime in various iterations of Transformers over the years, but Cullen happily returned to the role for the live-action film franchise. The live-action films have embraced the latest in visual affects - but the movies have also called back to the series’ past, through the voice of Peter Cullen.Ĭullen, 72, was the first actor to give voice to Optimus Prime - the leader of the Autobots, and the series’ metal, robotic heart - on the original Transformers cartoon show in the 1980s. Director Michael Bay’s film franchise has consistently topped charts since the first film arrived in theaters in 2007. Transformers: Age of Extinction has smashed its way to the No. And, in fairness, Alan Tudyk has been playing the voice of Optimus Prime on the Paramount+ cartoon Transformers: EarthSpark, and nobody has been mad about that.Listen to NPR’s Arun Rath speak to voice actor Peter Cullen, the voice of Transformers’ Optimus Prime: Transformers: One could be awesome and with this amount of talent, there’s good reason to believe it will be great. But why change Prime? Arguably, it’s also odd that Frank Welker isn’t voicing Megatron, but it feels like most fans would agree that Megatron isn’t quite as iconic as Cullen’s voice as Prime. So historically having famous people as the voices of our robots in disguise is fine. In 1986, Transformers: The Movie (you’ve got the touch!) featured Robert Stack as Ultra Magnus, Leonard Nimoy as Galvatron, Judd Nelson as Hot Rodd, and in one of his final performances, Orson Welles as the voice of the planet-eating monster Transformer, Unicron. Now, in the past, the Transformers franchise has certainly never shied away from stunt-casting when it comes to famous voices. Apparently, Transformers: One will be a full reboot, which tells the origin story of Prime and Megatron, which will feature an impressive voice cast including the following: While Chris Hemsworth is obviously great, and wonderful as Thor, replacing Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime just feels.wrong. ![]() The man’s voice is so good - he was always the guy who pulled us into various worlds in countless movie trailers throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s.īut not anymore! The next animated Transformers reboot movie - called Transformers: One - will feature a new actor in the voice role of Optimus Prime: Chris Hemsworth! From the Michael Bay movies to the upcoming Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the voice of Optimus Prime has always been the distinctive, bass-heavy tones of Cullen. The 81-year-old began voicing Optimus Prime in for the original Transformers cartoon and has never stopped since. Since 1984, just one person has played the voice of Autobot leader Optimus Prime: Canadian voice actor Peter Cullen.
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