Peter Cullen, voice of Optimus Prime and Eeyore, dies aged 85

Peter Cullen, the Canadian voice actor best known for portraying Optimus Prime in the Transformers franchise and Eeyore in numerous Winnie the Pooh productions, has died aged 85.

Cullen died on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, his agent, Kevin Motley, told The Hollywood Reporter. His family said he died peacefully surrounded by relatives.

“Peter Cullen passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family — and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide,” the family said in a statement.

They asked fans to honour his legacy by serving their communities and leading others with compassion, integrity and loyalty, adding: “Be strong enough to be gentle.”

Cullen's career spanned television, film, animation and video games over more than six decades, with his deep, authoritative voice becoming closely associated with some of the most recognisable characters in popular culture.

From Montreal to Hollywood

Peter Claver Cullen was born in Montreal on July 28, 1941, one of four children. His parents, Henry, a newsprint executive with International Paper Sales Co., and Muriel, were Americans.

As a child, Cullen spent time on a relative's farm, where he discovered an ability to imitate animals.

“I remember the very first summer, I could imitate the cows, the calves, the chickens, the different dogs they had,” he recalled.

He graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada in 1963 as part of its first graduating class. He subsequently studied acting under operatic coach Bernard Diamant, performed Shakespeare in Stratford, Ontario, and spent a year with the repertory company at Toronto's Crest Theatre.

Cullen also worked as an announcer at Montreal radio station CKGM and appeared as Commander Bi Bi Latuque in the children's television series The Buddies in 1967.

He later moved to Hollywood, where he joined The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and worked on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Comedy Show.

The voice of Optimus Prime

Cullen first voiced Optimus Prime in the syndicated animated series The Transformers, which ran from 1984 to 1987. The series was based on the Hasbro toy line and produced by Marvel in association with Toei Animation of Japan and later AKOM in South Korea.

Optimus Prime, leader of the heroic Autobots, became Cullen's defining role.

Cullen said he initially approached the audition without knowing much about the character.

“I auditioned like everybody else,” he told NPR in 2014. “I was told it was a hero, and I was told it was a truck.”

He drew inspiration for the character from his older brother Larry, a decorated US Marine who served in Vietnam from 1965 to 1968.

“When he came home, I could see a change. He was quieter and he was a man and a superhero to me,” Cullen said in 2006.

“I watched him and listened to him. I'd never had an opportunity to do a superhero, and when that came, [that voice] just came right out of me, and I sounded like Optimus.”

Cullen also voiced Ironhide, the Autobots' weapons specialist, basing the character's voice on actor Chill Wills, who appeared in classic Hollywood Westerns.

Return to the Transformers films

Optimus Prime was killed in The Transformers: The Movie in 1986 following a battle with Megatron. The character's death prompted a strong reaction from viewers, and Cullen returned to voice Optimus in the 1987 straight-to-video production The Transformers: The Return of Optimus Prime.

When director Michael Bay brought Transformers to the big screen in 2007, Cullen returned to the role after an absence of about two decades.

He described the experience as being like putting on “an old pair of very comfortable shoes” that he had not worn for some time.

The 2007 film, starring Shia LaBeouf, grossed approximately US$709.7 million worldwide. Cullen subsequently voiced Optimus Prime in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), which earned US$836.3 million, and Dark of the Moon (2011) and Age of Extinction (2014), each of which grossed about US$1.1 billion worldwide.

He continued as Optimus in The Last Knight (2017), Bumblebee (2018) and Rise of the Beasts (2023). Chris Hemsworth voiced the character in the 2024 animated film Transformers One.

Cullen's performance in the first season of the 2010-13 animated series Transformers: Prime earned him a Daytime Emmy nomination.

Eeyore and other memorable characters

Alongside Optimus Prime, Cullen was widely recognised as the voice of Eeyore, the melancholy donkey in the Winnie the Pooh universe.

He began voicing Eeyore in the 1988-91 animated series The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. He later reprised the role in Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year in 2002 and numerous other television productions and videos.

“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 said.

His other animation credits included Monterey Jack in Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, Coran and King Alfor in Voltron, Ramrod in Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, Commander James Hawkins in Vehicle Voltron, Mario in Saturday Supercade and Councillor 1 in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

King Kong, KARR and Predator

Cullen's voice work also extended beyond animation.

He voiced King Kong in the 1976 film remake and portrayed K.A.R.R., the evil counterpart to the talking car KITT, in Knight Rider productions in 1982 and 2009.

He was also responsible for one of the most distinctive sounds in the 1987 science-fiction action film Predator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Cullen created the creature's characteristic clicking and crackling vocalisations. He later recalled that producers initially did not want to show him what the Predator looked like, hoping to preserve the creature's mystery.

Cullen insisted that he needed to see the character to understand how to approach the performance.

After seeing the creature, he compared its appearance to an upside-down horseshoe crab dying on a beach. He used that impression to develop the sounds that emerged from the Predator.

A career spanning generations

Cullen remained closely associated with Transformers throughout his later career and was involved with NASA and the Optimus Prime Spinoff Award, presented to young people studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Reflecting on his connection with Transformers, Cullen said the franchise had become an important part of his life.

“The phenomenon of Transformers itself is mind-shaking,” he said. “Being a part of it is not only historical, it's a part of your life that says, ‘Gee, I'm glad.’”

Cullen is survived by his children, Angus, Claire, Pilar and Clay, who works as a stunt performer and coordinator.