Peter Cullen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Peter Cullen
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Cullen at the 2020 GalaxyCon Richmond
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| Born |
Peter Claver Cullen
July 28, 1941 |
| Education | National Theatre School (BFA) |
| Occupation | Voice actor |
| Years active | 1962–present |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | Molly Culver (daughter-in-law) Larry Cullen (brother) |
Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian voice actor. He is famous for being the voice of Optimus Prime. Optimus Prime is the leader of the Autobots in the original 1980s Transformers cartoon series. Peter Cullen returned to this role in 2007 for the first live-action Transformers movie and many other Transformers projects since then.
He has also voiced many other well-known characters. These include Eeyore from the Winnie the Pooh stories. He was also Monterey Jack in Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers. Peter Cullen was the first voice of KARR in Knight Rider. He even made the sounds for the main character in the movie Predator.
In 2023, Peter Cullen received a special Lifetime Achievement Award. This award was given by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It was part of the 2nd Children's and Family Emmy Awards.
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Early life and education
Peter Cullen was born on July 28, 1941, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His parents, Henry and Muriel, were from America. He has Irish family roots. Peter has three siblings: Michaela, Sonny, and Larry.
He was part of the very first group to graduate from the National Theatre School of Canada. He finished his studies there in 1963. His brother, Larry Cullen, was a retired captain in the United States Marine Corps. Larry's voice and personality helped Peter create the voice for Optimus Prime.
Career highlights
Early career in the 1960s and 1970s
In 1968, Peter Cullen worked on a comedy show for CBC Radio. It was called Funny You Should Say That. He played a character named Giles.
He also played a French-Canadian astronaut named Commander Bi Bi Latuque. This was for a children's show called The Buddies in 1969. Peter improved his voice skills by working as a radio announcer. He worked in his hometown of Montreal on station CKGM. From 1967 to 1969, he was the announcer for Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
From 1971 to 1974, he was a regular on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. In 1974, Cullen was an announcer and regular on The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show. He also lent his voice to a character in an album called "The Story of Halloween Horror" in 1977.
Voicing Optimus Prime
Peter Cullen remembers trying out for the voice of Optimus Prime. He felt it was a huge chance. His brother Larry gave him advice: "Peter, don't be a Hollywood hero, be a real hero. Real heroes don't yell and act tough; they're tough enough to be gentle, so control yourself." Peter later found out he got the part of Optimus Prime. He also got the role of Ironhide, which was a big surprise.
He has said that Optimus is his favorite voice role. He based Optimus's voice on his older brother Larry. Larry served in the Vietnam War. Peter said, "When he came home, I could see a change. He was quieter and he was a man and a superhero to me." He added, "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."
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Peter Cullen did not know how popular Optimus Prime was until the character's death. This happened in the 1986 animated movie, The Transformers: The Movie. The studio had never given him fan letters from kids. People were very upset about Optimus's death. Kids left theaters feeling sad.
Producers were very surprised by this reaction. Optimus was brought back for one episode in Season 3. It was called "Dark Awakening." This was meant to be his last appearance. But fans kept asking for him to return. So, "The Return of Optimus Prime" was made. This was a two-part episode. Optimus finally returned to lead the Autobots for the last five episodes of the original cartoon.
Peter Cullen returned as Optimus Prime in the 2007 live-action Transformers movie. He also voiced him in the sequels: Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon, Age of Extinction, and The Last Knight. He also voiced Optimus in the spin-off movies Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts. He has also voiced Optimus in video games based on the movies.
Cullen also voiced Optimus Prime in the video games Transformers: War for Cybertron, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, and Transformers: Devastation. He also voiced him in TV shows like Transformers: Rescue Bots, Transformers: Prime, and Transformers: Robots in Disguise. His work in Transformers: Prime earned him a nomination for a Daytime Emmy Award in 2011.
Other voice roles
In the 1980s and 1990s, Peter Cullen appeared in many TV shows. He played Coran and King Alfor in the Lion Voltron series. He was also Ramrod and Commander Eagle in Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs. He voiced Commander James Hawkins in the Vehicle Voltron series.
He is well-known as Eeyore in the Winnie the Pooh stories. He was the first voice of KARR in Knight Rider. He also voiced characters like Airborne and Zandar in G.I. Joe. He played Red Skull in the 1981 Spider-Man cartoon. He was also the main villain Venger in the animated series Dungeons & Dragons.
Peter Cullen also did voice work in the 1984 movie Gremlins. He returned as KARR in the 2008 Knight Rider series. He voiced Nintendo's mascot Mario in the Donkey Kong parts of the 1983–1984 TV show Saturday Supercade. This made him the first person to voice Mario in Western media.
He has also done voice work for film trailers and TV commercials. He was an announcer for the Toonami block on the Cartoon Network. In 2023, he joined season 2 of the Amazon Originals Invincible series.
Personal life
Peter Cullen has four children: Clay, Angus, Claire, and Pilar. He also has three grandchildren. He is good friends with his Transformers co-star and fellow voice actor Frank Welker. This is interesting because their characters, Optimus Prime and Megatron, are rivals.
Cullen is a big fan and supporter of NASA. He became interested after the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969. Because of this, he sees the scene with Optimus Prime and Buzz Aldrin in Dark of the Moon as one of his proudest moments.
Awards and recognition
In 2010, Hasbro honored Peter Cullen at BotCon. He was one of the first four people to be added to the Transformers Hall of Fame. This was for his important role as the voice of Optimus Prime.
| Year | Award | Category | Film/TV Show | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program | Transformers Prime | Nominated |
| 2023 | Children's and Family Emmy Awards | Lifetime Achievement Award | N/A | Won |
Images for kids
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Cullen at the 2020 GalaxyCon Richmond
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Peter Cullen holds a toy matrix at a convention in Portland in 2024.
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Cullen putting his handprints in wet concrete at the Optimus Prime Chinese Theatre Handprint Ceremony in 2014
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Cullen in 2011
See also
In Spanish: Peter Cullen para niños
