The beloved voice actor will be “held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide,” his family shared.

Peter Cullen, voice of Transformers’ Optimus Prime and Winnie the Pooh’s Eeyore, dies at 85

The beloved voice actor will be “held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide,” his family shared.

By Leigh Blickley

August 27, 2026 12:31 p.m. ET

Peter Cullen, known for voicing ‘Transformers’ favorite Optimus Prime, has died. Credit:

Jim Spellman/WireImage; Everett

- Peter Cullen has died at the age of 85.

- The voice actor played iconic animated and CGI characters like Optimus Prime and Eeyore in the *Transformers* films and *Winnie the Pooh*, respectively.

- Cullen’s family said he will be “held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide.”

Peter Cullen, the voice actor behind animated characters like *Transformers*’ Optimus Prime and *Winnie the Pooh*’s Eeyore, has died. He was 85.

His agent, Kevin Motley, confirmed his death to **, sharing that Cullen died Wednesday, Aug. 26, at his home in Los Angeles.

A statement from his family read: “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.’”

Cullen was born in Montreal, Quebec, on July 28, 1941, and was part of the first graduating class of the National Theatre School of Canada in 1963. He went on to hone his voice acting skills as a radio announcer and became a series regular on *The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour* in the early 1970s.

He voiced King Kong for the 1976 remake and the evil K.A.R.R. (short for Knight Automated Roving Robot) on the *Knight Rider* series in 1982 and 2009. Cullen also came up with the scary clicking sounds that emerged from the mouth of the monster in the Arnold Schwarzenegger-starring *Predator* in 1987.

“Years ago on the beach in Massachusetts, at low tide, there was an upside-down horseshoe crab, and it was a hot day, and the bubbles were coming out of it, and its legs are like this [gestures], and all those bubbles are breaking, and they’re making that little [mimics *Predator* click]. So, I figured, ‘That’s stuck in my brain,’” Cullen told *Collider* in 2023 of finding the creature’s sound.

Cullen’s most famous voice role, however, was perhaps Optimus Prime, the brave and noble leader of the Autobots — whom he played across the *Transformers* franchise. Cullen voiced the character in the original 1980s animated series, Michael Bay’s live-action movie franchise, and numerous video games and spin-offs. (His most recent appearance was in 2023’s *Transformers: Rise of the Beasts*.)

Optimus’ death after a duel with the tyrannical Megatron in 1986’s *The Transformers: The Movie* caused an unexpected outcry, prompting producers to bring both Cullen and the character back for 1987’s straight-to-video movie, *The Transformers: The Return of Optimus Prime*.

Albert L. Ortega/Getty

“I would have loved that character if I were a kid because I feel my brother Larry all the time,” Cullen told *Collider*, noting his Vietnam veteran brother Larry was the inspiration behind the voice. “He was one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever known; a funny, kind, sensitive, strong, courageous… and it was synonymous with who he was, and that’s who Prime is. That’s why I love doing Prime, because it’s not me, it’s my brother.”

Cullen also voiced Eeyore in *Winnie the Pooh*, across decades of content, noting to *Collider* that the beloved sad donkey was his “favorite, outside of Prime.”

“I loved the characters that were easiest to do, that didn’t require a lot of screaming and yelling, and stuff like that, because screaming and yelling, it’s hard work,” he added.

Cullen recalled his audition for the character at 2018’s TFCon, where he also performed Eeyore’s iconic voice.

Eeyore and Tigger.

The actor also lent his storied voice to everything from 1984’s *Gremlins* and 1991’s *The Little Engine That Could* to 2002’s *Treasure Planet* and 2019’s TV series *Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles*.

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Cullen is survived by his children, whom he shared with wife Brandi. Together, they were parents to Angus, Claire, Pilar and Clay, a stunt performer and coordinator.

“I talked with a lot of people who grew up with *Transformers*, and I don’t take them for granted,” Cullen said in 2023 while promoting his final film role in *Rise of the Beasts*. “I love you guys.”

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