Optimus Prime Speaks!

Posted by Kevin Carr (kevin@filmschoolrejects.com) on July 2, 2007

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past six months, you know that the giant robots in disguise are coming to invade Earth on July 3. Michael Bay’s “Transformers” will be hitting the theaters soon, and leading the team of Autobots to save the humans everyone’s favorite truck cab, Optimus Prime.

While the robots have been given an upgrade from ink-and-paint cell animation to eye-popping CGI designs, the spirit behind the bots has been left intact. Veteran voice actor Peter Cullen will be returning to the big screen as the new, improved Optimus Prime, a role he hasn’t voiced since the original cartoon in the 1980s.

Cullen told the Fat Guys at the Movies that initial plans with the film included different name actors to take over the voice roles. However, due to a tremendous reaction from the fan base, they changed the studio’s way of thinking.

“They wanted ‘that guy Peter Cullen’ to do it because he did the original one,” Cullen told the Fat Guys. “And they got their way, and God bless them.”

With the original voice of Optimus Prime behind the bot, the next obstacle was to see a fair adaptation of the character on the big screen. If anybody was to be critical, it would have been me because I feel such an attachment to it, and certainly in these later years when I realize what an impact he’s had on so many lives,” Cullen said. “It would be nothing shy of a disaster if they hadn’t kept him the same.”

Months after recording the lines in a studio, Cullen had a chance to get a glimpse of his big screen alter-ego, and he was thrilled at the result. “Having seen a lot of it now, I say this is awesome. This is Prime for the better,” Cullen said.

Cullen, who started his career as a screen actor for various comedy and variety shows, moved into voice acting when his agent noticed his talent. Cullen explained, “He said, I think you have what it takes to be great in this business. If you give me 100% of you, I’ll give you 100% of me.”

By devoting himself to voice acting, and not landing roles in television or movies that would take him out of the field for months at a time, Cullen was able to secure a stable career to raise his family. “To take the risk out of the ups and downs, I was going to concentrate on things I could do very well,” he said.

This led him to a career of voice acting that has lasted more than 30 years. “I’m a grunt. I do volume” he said, explaining how to make this business lucrative. It’s not uncommon for him as go to as many as five or seven voice over gigs a day.

This devotion to the art of voice acting has given Cullen a chance to do other roles outside of “Transformers.” One of his most recognizable on-screen characters is Eeyore from Disney’s “Winnie the Pooh.”

“He’s a loveable character. It’s a pleasure to do him,” Cullen said of his work on Eeyore. “But it’s nothing like the challenge of being Optimus Prime.”

With the impending success of “Transformers,” Cullen is looking ahead to the future with more Prime as the talk of sequels buzz even before the first hits theater screens. “Whatever length of time I’m in the film for this one,” he said. “They say it’ll be more than doubled in the sequel for next year.”

Find out more about Transformers in our Summer Movie Smackdown and be sure to check out Fat Guys at the Movies for clips from our conversation with Peter Cullen.

Read more articles by Kevin Carr