Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian voice actor. He
is best known as the voice of Optimus Prime in the original 1980s
Transformers animated series, and most other incarnations of the
character. He has also voiced many other characters across a wide
variety of popular media, including Eeyore in the Winnie the Pooh
franchise, Monterey Jack in Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and the first
voice of KARR in Knight Rider. In 2007, Cullen returned to the role of
Optimus Prime in various Transformers media, starting with the first
live-action film.Cullen was born on July 28, 1941, in Montreal,
Quebec, to Henry and Muriel (née McCann) Cullen. He has three
siblings: Michaela, Sonny, and Larry. Cullen attended Regiopolis-Notre
Dame Catholic Secondary School. He is a member of the first graduating
class of the National Theatre School of Canada, which he graduated in
1963. His brother, Larry Cullen, was a retired Captain in the United
States Marine Corps, and helped inspire the voice of Optimus Prime.In
1968, he and Joan Stuart appeared as "Giles" and "Penelope" in
L'Anglaise, a recurring segment about a French-Canadian man with an
English-Canadian wife, on the CBC Radio comedy series, Funny You
Should Say That.Cullen played a French-Canadian astronaut character
named Commander Bi Bi Latuque alongside Ted Zeigler for the 1969
children's show, The Buddies on CFCF-TV in Montreal. He honed his
voice skills by working as a radio announcer, notably in his home town
of Montreal on (then) MOR station CKGM doing the overnight and weekend
swing shifts. From 1967â€"69, he was the announcer for Smothers
Brothers Comedy Hour.
is best known as the voice of Optimus Prime in the original 1980s
Transformers animated series, and most other incarnations of the
character. He has also voiced many other characters across a wide
variety of popular media, including Eeyore in the Winnie the Pooh
franchise, Monterey Jack in Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and the first
voice of KARR in Knight Rider. In 2007, Cullen returned to the role of
Optimus Prime in various Transformers media, starting with the first
live-action film.Cullen was born on July 28, 1941, in Montreal,
Quebec, to Henry and Muriel (née McCann) Cullen. He has three
siblings: Michaela, Sonny, and Larry. Cullen attended Regiopolis-Notre
Dame Catholic Secondary School. He is a member of the first graduating
class of the National Theatre School of Canada, which he graduated in
1963. His brother, Larry Cullen, was a retired Captain in the United
States Marine Corps, and helped inspire the voice of Optimus Prime.In
1968, he and Joan Stuart appeared as "Giles" and "Penelope" in
L'Anglaise, a recurring segment about a French-Canadian man with an
English-Canadian wife, on the CBC Radio comedy series, Funny You
Should Say That.Cullen played a French-Canadian astronaut character
named Commander Bi Bi Latuque alongside Ted Zeigler for the 1969
children's show, The Buddies on CFCF-TV in Montreal. He honed his
voice skills by working as a radio announcer, notably in his home town
of Montreal on (then) MOR station CKGM doing the overnight and weekend
swing shifts. From 1967â€"69, he was the announcer for Smothers
Brothers Comedy Hour.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.