{"id":7544,"date":"2026-08-27T16:11:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T16:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544"},"modified":"2026-08-27T16:11:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T16:11:48","slug":"iconic-transformers-voice-actor-peter-cullen-dead-at-85","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544","title":{"rendered":"Iconic ‘Transformers’ voice actor Peter Cullen dead at 85"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Peter Cullen, famous for voicing Optimus Prime in the \u201cTransformers\u201d franchise, has died. He was 85.<\/p>\n

Read more Chilling 911 audio released after NJ grandpa allegedly crashed boat drunk, killing grandkids<\/a><\/p>\n

The voice actor\u2019s agent told TMZ that Cullen died on Wednesday at his Los Angeles home.<\/p>\n

His cause of death is unknown.<\/p>\n

Cullen\u2019s family also shared an emotional statement with the outlet, in which they said that he \u201cpassed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis family asks that you honor his remarkable legacy by serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty and always remember \u2018be strong enough to be gentle,’\u201d they concluded, referencing the iconic phrase Cullen made widely known while voicing Optimus Prime.<\/p>\n

Cullen voiced Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, in the original 1980s \u201cTransformers\u201d animated TV series.<\/p>\n

He reprised the role in in \u201cThe Transformers: The Movie\u201d (1986) as his deep, commanding delivery became inseparable from the character.<\/p>\n

He also voiced Optimus Prime in the epic live-action \u201cTransformers\u201d film series directed by Michael Bay which featured stars like Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox.<\/p>\n

After the first film in 2007, Cullen subsequently voiced the character in every live-action \u201cTransformers,\u201d including \u201cTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen\u201d (2009), \u201cTransformers: Dark of the Moon\u201d (2011), \u201cTransformers: Age of Extinction\u201d (2014), \u201cTransformers: The Last Knight\u201d (2017) \u201cBumblebee\u201d (2018), and \u201cTransformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023).<\/p>\n

Cullen remained closely associated with the character through animated series including \u201cTransformers: Prime\u201d and \u201cTransformers: Robots in Disguise,\u201d as well as numerous video games. <\/p>\n

Read more Ratko Mladic, ruthless ex-Bosnian Serb war criminal who oversaw atrocities, dies in prison at 84<\/a><\/p>\n

He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 2011 for his performance as Optimus in \u201cTransformers: Prime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite his impressive voice acting career, Cullen initially worked as a live performer, announcer and actor before moving heavily into voice work. One of his early notable credits was providing the voice of King Kong in the 1976 film \u201cKing Kong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cullen began voicing Eeyore, the gloomy but lovable donkey, starting with \u201cThe New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh\u201d in 1988. He continued playing the character across numerous Disney productions for decades.<\/p>\n

He also provided the distinctive vocal effects for the Predator in the original \u201cPredator\u201d film in 1987, creating the creature\u2019s growls and other sounds.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

By the 90s, Cullen became the go-to guy for animation voices and accumulated an enormous number of credits, including KARR on \u201cKnight Rider\u201d and characters in \u201cDuckTales,\u201d \u201cChip \u2018n Dale: Rescue Rangers,\u201d \u201cG.I. Joe,\u201d \u201cVoltron\u201d and \u201cMy Little Pony.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2023, Cullen received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences at the Children\u2019s & Family Emmy Awards, recognizing his extraordinary contribution to voice acting.<\/p>\n

Cullen\u2019s last voice-acting role was the character Thaedus on the Prime Video series \u201cInvincible.\u201d He voiced the character in the animated series\u2019 third season, which premiered in 2025.<\/p>\n

Read more Ex-Eagles star Miles Sanders arrested for DUI after being found \u2018slumped over\u2019 in middle of highway<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Peter Cullen, famous for voicing Optimus Prime in the “Transformers” franchise, has died. He was 85.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-news"],"yoast_head":"\nIconic 'Transformers' voice actor Peter Cullen dead at 85 - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Iconic 'Transformers' voice actor Peter Cullen dead at 85 - Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Peter Cullen, famous for voicing Optimus Prime in the "Transformers" franchise, has died. He was 85.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-27T16:11:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7544#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7544\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"headline\":\"Iconic ‘Transformers’ voice actor Peter Cullen dead at 85\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-27T16:11:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7544\"},\"wordCount\":498,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7544#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/e8ff6ddf53fad1a6d79c1ca40a7378b9.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Celebrity News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7544#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7544\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7544\",\"name\":\"Iconic 'Transformers' voice actor Peter Cullen dead at 85 - Metro Transit Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7544#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7544#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/e8ff6ddf53fad1a6d79c1ca40a7378b9.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-27T16:11:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7544#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7544\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7544#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/e8ff6ddf53fad1a6d79c1ca40a7378b9.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/e8ff6ddf53fad1a6d79c1ca40a7378b9.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":799},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7544#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Iconic ‘Transformers’ voice actor Peter Cullen dead at 85\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Metro Transit Review\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Iconic 'Transformers' voice actor Peter Cullen dead at 85 - Metro Transit Review","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Iconic 'Transformers' voice actor Peter Cullen dead at 85 - Metro Transit Review","og_description":"Peter Cullen, famous for voicing Optimus Prime in the \"Transformers\" franchise, has died. He was 85.","og_url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544","og_site_name":"Metro Transit Review","article_published_time":"2026-08-27T16:11:48+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"headline":"Iconic ‘Transformers’ voice actor Peter Cullen dead at 85","datePublished":"2026-08-27T16:11:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544"},"wordCount":498,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/e8ff6ddf53fad1a6d79c1ca40a7378b9.webp","articleSection":["Celebrity News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544","name":"Iconic 'Transformers' voice actor Peter Cullen dead at 85 - Metro Transit Review","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/e8ff6ddf53fad1a6d79c1ca40a7378b9.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-27T16:11:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/e8ff6ddf53fad1a6d79c1ca40a7378b9.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/e8ff6ddf53fad1a6d79c1ca40a7378b9.webp","width":1200,"height":799},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7544#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Iconic ‘Transformers’ voice actor Peter Cullen dead at 85"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/","name":"Metro Transit Review","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/metrotransitreview.com"],"url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7544\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}