LOS ANGELES, United States — Peter Cullen, the Canadian-American actor whose deep voice defined Optimus Prime in Transformers and brought weary tenderness to Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh, has died. He was 85.
Cullen died at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, his agent, Kevin Motley, confirmed. A cause of death was not disclosed.
“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 said.
The family asked admirers to honour Cullen by serving their communities and leading others with compassion, integrity and loyalty.
The statement ended with a principle that became inseparable from his most famous character: “Be strong enough to be gentle.”
The Voice Behind an Autobot Leader
Cullen first played Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, in the original Transformers animated television series in 1984.
His measured baritone gave the character authority without relying on shouting or aggression.
The performance became so closely associated with Optimus Prime that Cullen returned repeatedly for animated productions, films and video games.
After nearly two decades away from the role, he returned for Michael Bay’s live-action Transformers film in 2007.
He continued voicing the character through five sequels, the Bumblebee spin-off and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts in 2023.
His work on the animated series Transformers: Prime, which began in 2010, earned him a Daytime Emmy nomination.
Cullen said he developed the voice using advice from his older brother, Larry Cullen, a decorated United States Marine who served in the Vietnam War.
Before the audition, Larry advised him to portray Optimus as “a real hero” rather than “a Hollywood hero”.
“He said, ‘Don’t go yelling and screaming. He’s strong enough to be gentle,’” Cullen recalled.
The actor said he could hear his brother’s voice throughout the audition and used its calm gravity as the foundation for the character.
“It was his tone of voice and delivery as a leader, his control that impressed me, and I applied my brother’s attitude to life to Optimus Prime,” Cullen told the Reading Eagle in 2008.
He said the character’s calmness, honour, dignity and strength reflected qualities he associated with his brother and the Marine Corps.
Cullen later shared part of the money he earned from playing Optimus Prime with Larry until his brother’s death.
Despite becoming the character’s defining voice, Cullen said he never assumed that the role belonged to him permanently.
“Nothing is permanent in this business, and I’ve never taken it for granted by any means,” he said in a 2014 interview.
A Voice That Could Convey Strength and Sadness
Cullen’s other enduring role was Eeyore, the despondent donkey from Disney’s Winnie the Pooh franchise.
He voiced the character in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which ran from 1988 to 1991, and returned for numerous television programmes, films and video games.
Cullen described playing Eeyore after years of performing as Optimus Prime as a relief. He later identified the donkey as his favourite character after the Autobot leader.
The two roles demonstrated the breadth of his work. Optimus spoke with solemn authority and resolve, while Eeyore’s slow, subdued delivery conveyed resignation and vulnerability.
Cullen said one of his greatest pleasures was watching children recognise Eeyore’s voice.
“I get an awful lot of reactions from, especially, young kids, when I go up and just say, ‘Hello. Thanks for noticing me,’” he told NPR in 2014.
Cullen also portrayed KARR, the hostile counterpart to the artificial intelligence KITT, in the television series Knight Rider.
He created the clicking vocalisations used by the alien creature in the 1987 film Predator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and supplied the roars of the giant ape in the 1976 remake of King Kong.
His extensive animation work included Monterey Jack in Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers, as well as characters in Spider-Man, Donkey Kong, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Dungeons & Dragons, My Little Pony, DuckTales, The Smurfs, G.I. Joe and Adventures of the Gummi Bears.
Among his later roles was Thaedus, a Viltrumite who turned against his empire, in the Prime Video animated series Invincible.
Early Life and Training
Peter Cullen was born in Montreal on July 28, 1941, one of four children of Henry Cullen and Muriel Cullen, both Americans.
He spent part of his childhood working on a farm, where he began experimenting with voices by imitating chickens, cows and dogs.
Cullen recalled discovering that he could command the attention of an entire dairy barn simply by changing his voice. When the cows looked towards him, he walked between them pretending to address an audience.
“I was the king of the cows,” he told NPR.
Cullen graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada in 1963. He subsequently joined the repertory company at Toronto’s Crest Theatre before building a career in Canadian radio and television.
He later worked on American variety programmes, including The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, where he served as an announcer. As his ability to create distinctive voices became increasingly evident, he shifted his attention towards animation and recorded performances.
That transition produced a career spanning more than five decades and hundreds of credits across television, cinema, advertising and video games.
Recognition and Family
Cullen received a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2011 for outstanding performer in an animated programme.
In 2023, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award at the Children’s and Family Emmy Awards, recognising his contributions to television and film.
Cullen is survived by his four children, Angus Cullen, Claire Cullen, Pilar Cullen and Clay Cullen.
For generations of viewers, he remained inseparable from Optimus Prime, a heroic machine whose strength was expressed through restraint, duty and compassion.
Those qualities were also reflected in his family’s request that admirers remember him by helping others and leading with gentleness.
