The Legacy & Voice of Optimus Prime

Petter Cullen the legendary voice behind Optimus Prime talks about how he got the role.

Petter Cullen

When I voiced prime for the very first time, I was living with my brother Larry, who was a Marine, and I said, I'm going to an audition. I'm going to be a truck. And he started to laugh and he said, a truck? And I said, This is a leader. This is a hero. And his demeanor just changed. He just went, Well, Peter, if you're going to be a leader, be strong enough to be gentle. And I got to the audition and I said, My name is Optimus Prime from the planet Cybertron. I had no doubt that this is what a hero should sound like. And I was convinced I was going to get that role.

This is an emergency. Can you hear me, Mirage? Roll out. Yo, what the hell was that?

Steven Caple Jr.

Peter Cullen gets behind that mic and he goes deep into Optimist Prime mode. You're like, Whoa, this is really happening.

We have one last hope.

Petter Cullen

Steven Capitol Jr. Really is sensational. He's thoughtful, he's energetic, he's moving, he instills that confidence.

Take the wheel. Get it, baby.

Steven Caple Jr.

Every Transformers movie, Optimist Prime and the lead human being are always close. And this is the first time in the film where you see these two characters who are trying to figure things out.

You brought a human here.

Petter Cullen

Transformers Rise of the Beast has the same ingredients that were there at the beginning. There is that integrity. There's a dignity. There's courage. It's an honor to be able to do this character. I've talked with a lot of people that grew up with Transformers, and I don't take them for granted.

Content credits: Paramount Pictures YouTube