Optimus Prime and Eeyore voice actor Peter Cullen dies
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- Peter Cullen died at age 85 at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday, his family confirmed in a statement saying he "passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family."
- Cullen originated the role of Optimus Prime for the 1984 Transformers TV series and reprised the heroic, deep-voiced character across seven Hollywood films from 2007 to 2023 and other spin-offs.
- Eeyore was among Cullen's most beloved roles — he voiced the depressive donkey in Disney's The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh from the late 1980s and in numerous related shows, films, and games.
- The Optimus Prime voice was inspired by Cullen's older brother, a decorated US Marine and Vietnam War veteran, who told him to play the character as "a real hero, don't be a Hollywood hero" and "strong enough to be gentle"; Cullen shared a cut of his Optimus wages with his brother until his death.
- Cullen earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for outstanding performer in an animated programme in 2011 and received a lifetime achievement award at the Children's & Family Emmy Awards in 2023.
- Cullen's other notable voice roles included KARR (the evil counterpart to KITT in Knight Rider), the clicking vocalizations of The Predator in Schwarzenegger's 1987 film, King Kong's roars in the 1976 film, and Monterey Jack in Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers.
Why it matters: Cullen's death closes a vocal era for multiple generations of fans — his Optimus Prime spanned 40 years of Transformers media from 1984 to 2023, and his Eeyore anchored decades of Disney's Winnie the Pooh output. The brother-inspired approach he took to Optimus made the character distinctive: a calm, authoritative hero rather than a Hollywood action voice, setting the template every subsequent Optimus has been measured against.
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