Peter Cullen was an icon, but the Transformers star once feared Optimus Prime’s death was his fault

The world has lost yet another gem in Peter Cullen, the original Optimus Prime voice star who continued to inspire multiple generations with his work on the Transformers, Winnie the Pooh and Invincible. 

Mere hours after losing Dolly Parton and Tim Curry, it’s been revealed that Cullen has died at the age of 85. His family confirmed the news in a statement, which reads, “Peter Cullen passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family – and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide. 

“His family asks that you honor his remarkable legacy by serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty and always remember ‘be strong enough to be gentle.’”

The latter quote originates from advice given to Cullen by his brother before auditioning for the 1980s Transformers animated series. Essentially, he meant not to go in screaming and loud, as real heroes are quietly confident. 

This philosophy went on to become synonymous with the kind of leader Optimus Prime turned out to be. For many, there is no Transformers without Cullen. 

Another word you could use to describe the voice star is humble – so much so that he once thought his performance had led to the end of his Transformers career. 

Peter Cullen was the Optimus Prime the world needed

Back in February 2007, Cullen spoke with MovieWeb about reprising his role as Optimus Prime in the first Michael Bay Transformers live-action film. His passion, enthusiasm and gratitude absolutely shone through in the interview from the very first question. 

When the interviewer noted how excited the fandom was about his return, Cullen replied, “This means a great deal to me. Mostly because the fan base literally lobbied for me to play the part. Without them, I probably would have stayed back in that oblivion from 1986. 

“I am so grateful to the fans, and I like to take every opportunity I have to tell them that. I had an opportunity yesterday to meet with some website guys at a panel discussion, and for me it was a great opportunity to say, ‘Thank you.’ For what they have done. It means a lot to me.”

Cullen was then asked if he could have imagined back in 1986 – when the animated film The Transformers: The Movie dropped – that he would end up in arguably the biggest blockbuster release of 2007. 

Not only did he not have a “glint of a thought like that”, but he believed that he was the reason Optimus Prime was killed while fighting Megatron in the 1986 film. 

“Back in those days, you know, when I did that first movie? I realised that I was going to be killed off. That was a surprise,” he explained. 

“I wondered for years if it was because of a bad performance. Or whatever. I never got any feedback from them. There wasn’t any thermometer to judge you. The surprise eventually dawned on me. 

“Over the years, maybe just a few years back, when I went to a Comic Con, that’s when I was surprised by the fact that Optimus had made an impact on so many lives. So, here we are. And it’s getting more exciting by the day.”

Of course, his character was reincarnated in the animated series not too long after. As Cullen explained, “From what I understand, and it is humorous to me now… It was because of the pressure put on the show by the powers that be, because of the impact of Prime’s death. 

“They had to bring me back, because evidently there were some psychological problems going on. There were a lot of upset kids.”

But for a long time, Cullen assumed the original death could have had something to do with his performance. 

Thankfully, he got to see how beloved his voice and character work was for many years after, not just in Transformers but as Eeyore in the Winnie the Pooh franchise, Monterey Jack in Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, and more recently Thaedus in Invincible. 

Rest easy, Peter Cullen. Till all are one.

Featured image credit: Shutterstock/Hasbro