A Tribute to Peter Cullen

We lost Peter Cullen on Wednesday, the 26th of August.

In the space of these few short days since the news broke, there have been countless tributes to the voice of Optimus Prime. What struck me immediately was how one person meant so much to so many, and in so many different ways.

Not only was Peter the voice of the legendary leader of the heroic Autobots, but many other characters such as Eeyore, Monterey Jack, and Ironhide. His career spanned six decades.

For so many of us across the world — myself included — Peter’s voice has become more than a character, it has become a part of who we are. It carried with it something timeless. It was warmth, it was wisdom, and it showed us all how great strength could be compassionate and gentle.

In his many portrayals of Optimus Prime, Peter embodied courage, determination, hope and, most of all, kindness. Optimus Prime existed to protect the freedom of everyone, and Peter’s voice became the character’s heart — proving that to be powerful was to stand up for what is just.

When I was growing up, the Transformers television series wasn’t really on my radar. I read the comics week after week, but didn’t pay too much attention to the cartoons. When the “Arrival from Cybertron” VHS tape became available in the UK in the summer of 1986, I had my first exposure to Peter’s voice as Ironhide and, of course, Optimus Prime. It was the perfect match for the heroic and selfless leader I was seeing in action on the small screen. I couldn’t imagine any other voice. Peter just simply was Optimus Prime.

After I first saw The Transformers: The Movie at the cinema that December, the only lines of dialogue I recalled were all Optimus Prime’s. The Movie had flashed across the big screen relentlessly for 90 minutes but his voice boomed memorably across the cinema screen whenever he spoke. It was captivating.  

On the way home, what stuck with me the most were Optimus Prime’s words. In particular, “All we need is a little energon, and a lot of luck”, stayed with me for the following forty years. It became a mantra to help me through difficult times.

And it was all due to Peter’s portrayal. It was a voice I could trust; almost fatherly in nature.

I went back to reading the comics but now with Peter’s voice in mind when Optimus Prime was speaking. It’s a testament to the power of his voice that it could cross media. When I read the likes of “Prey”, “Distant Thunder”, and “Afterdeath” I heard Peter Cullen. Over the years, reading Powermaster Optimus Prime in “People Power” and the Unicron Saga, I still heard Peter Cullen. Peter’s performance was as important as the comic’s writing and artwork when the character formed in my imagination while reading.

Firmly embedded, Peter’s was a voice I would never forget.

As I left childhood, that voice stayed with me. The warmth was a comfort. It was the wisdom I needed when I felt lost. It was the hope that I needed when the world seemed bleak.

Peter’s portrayal of Optimus Prime became something stored somewhere inside me and came rushing back whenever I needed it. I didn’t truly realise it until the last few days, but what an extraordrinary gift Peter gave us all.

In the June of 2007, I went to a press screening of Transformers in London. Michael Bay was there to “make sure the volume was turned up loud.” I was sat among a cluster of journalists who didn’t really seem to understand what was going on. But when Optimus Prime — again voiced by Peter — started talking, the audience became stunned. The voice, resonant with authority, reverberated around the massive auditorium. I felt it in my ribs.

I was immediately transported to a younger version of myself. The feelings evoked by Peter’s performance came flooding back on the train home. In the intervening years, it was clear: his voice had become a legend.

Peter voiced Optimus Prime several more times until 2023. Each appearance anchored the non-stop action with a sense of gravity that reminded you that you were watching a true hero at work.

Sadly, I never got to meet Peter Cullen. Seeing him at some point at a convention was always something I took for granted. I know I’ve missed out. From the stories I’ve heard from friends, and from clips I’ve seen online, I’ve missed out in a big, big way.

Peter has always come across as very friendly and kind. I’ve watched innumerable videos of him signing posters, toys, and DVDs for fans. And particularly when it came to younger fans, Peter was as pleased to see them as they were to see him! On stage, microphone in hand, Peter answered fans’ questions with grace and would suddenly stun the crowd with an arresting, “Autobots: roll out!” He would then smile as the cheers rolled around the room.

There it was again: that unmistakable, powerful but gentle voice hitting us full force in the chest.

The story of how Peter came to find his voice for Optimus Prime, in honour of his brother, Larry, is one I never tire of hearing. It showed how thoughtful Peter was when it came to voicing a hero that would be an inspiration for so many young people. It’s clear he put so much care into his work.

If I had been able to meet Peter Cullen, I would have thanked him, wholeheartedly, for being the hero who voiced my hero.

It’s only been a few days’ since Peter’s passing, and there will be many more tributes to come. We will be comforted by all he did, and we will imagine what we would say to him if only we still could.

Let this time be an opportunity to say something to those who are still around to listen. Talk to your friends, family, and loved ones. Be thankful for them. Offer the kindness and compassion Peter did.

Peter Cullen inspired generations of young people, and his legacy will continue to do so. As Optimus Prime, his strength will carry on through us just as long as we don’t forget that voice.

And I know I won’t forget that voice.