Beloved voice actor Peter Cullen, who voiced Optimus Prime in the Transformers franchise and Predator in the classic Arnold Schwarzenegger film, has died at the age of 85
Legendary voice actor Peter Cullen has died at the age of 85. The star, best known for voicing Optimus Prime in the iconic Transformers franchise, died at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday (August 26).
Cullen died “peacefully” and surrounded by his loved ones, his family members have confirmed. They told TMZ: “Peter Cullen passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family – and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide.
“His family asks that you honor his remarkable legacy by serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty and always remember ‘be strong enough to be gentle.'”
The Canadian actor first voiced Optimus Prime, the heoric supreme commander of the Autobots, in the original 1980s Transformers animated TV show. He also played the character in the blockbuster Transformers film series and video games.
Discussing how he landed his iconic role, Cullen told NPR in 2014: “I auditioned like everybody else. I was told it was a hero, and I was told it was a truck.”
The actor said that reprising the role for Michael Bay’s movies just felt right. He told IGN in 2007: “I describe it as kind of slipping into an old pair of very comfortable shoes that you haven’t worn for a while. I just slipped right into them, and they felt as good as the last time I put them on.”
Cullen voiced Optimus Prime in Transformers (2007) and its sequels Revenge of the Fallen (2009), Dark of the Moon (2011), Age of Extinction (2014), The Last Knight (2017) and Rise of the Beasts (2023).
But the robot isn’t the actor’s only famous role. He was the voice of donkey Eeyore in The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1988-91), and in WInnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year (2002).
He said: “I get an awful lot of reactions from, especially, young kids, when I go up and just say [in Eeyore’s voice], ‘Hello. Thanks for noticing me.'”
He voiced KARR in Knight Rider and Monterey Jack in CHip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers. His other TV credits include The Smurfs, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, and The Dukes, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and The Jetsons, and more recently Amazon Prime’s Invincible.
Cullen also voiced Predator in the hit 1987 movie of the same name, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
