For those who don’t know who Peter Cullen is, this article will probably teach you a little about him. Peter Cullen is a Canadian voice actor who voiced over many characters like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, Monterey Jack from Chip and Dale, K.A.R.R. from Knight Rider, King Alfor from Voltron and The Alien from Predator. 

But those aren’t the characters he’s known for voicing, some of us know him for voicing as the Autobot Leader himself, Optimus Prime from the franchise Transformers. 

How did he become Optimus Prime you ask; well, it started when the First Transformers Animated series started in 1984, there was an audition that was happening, and that was the same one Peter was going to, but that wasn’t it. Peter was living with his brother, Larry Cullen; Larry served in the Marine veteran in Vietnam around 1965. 

Larry asked where Peter was heading off to, and Peter responded that he was heading to an audition and would play as a truck. “A truck?” Larry asked, but Peter explained that he was a hero truck. And that’s when Larry had to tell him not pretend to be one of those Hollywood heroes that shout and scream on the microphone, and that when Larry told Peter to “Be Strong Enough to be Gentle.” 

After that conversation, Peter couldn’t stop thinking about what his brother told him, it was like his voice was stuck right inside his head, as Peter went to the audition he didn’t just yell and scream or shout like an idiot, he used a spine chilling, soothing and gentle voice. 

Since then, Peter Cullen has voiced Optimus Prime in some of the Transformers Animated shows, he also voiced Optimus in the live-action films by Michael Bay even the new ones such as The Bumblebee Movie and Rise of the Beast. 

Back in the year 2023 when Season 2 of Invincible was released, Peter voiced as the character named Great Thaedus; I don’t know much about the character, but I think I remember him as a high council character or something, I don’t know, and not to mention that he won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmy’s. 

Maybe later in the future, Peter will voice as new or old characters later in the future, or he’ll keep voicing as Optimus Prime, and not to mention keeping his brother’s quote alive, no matter what happens to him, he’ll still be Optimus Prime. 

                                    “Be Strong Enough, to be Gentle” -Peter Cullen