Peter Cullen, one of the earliest voice actors to perform as Mario, and the iconic voice of Transformers‘ Optimus Prime, has died. Aside from his voice being highly recognizable as Transformers‘ Optimus Prime, the Canadian voice actor was prolific, appearing in TV, movies, and games throughout his career in enough roles that most people have probably heard his voice at some point.
Canadian Voice Actor Peter Cullen Has Died
Peter Cullen passed away on August 26, 2026, at the age of 85 years old. He was reportedly at his home in Los Angeles when he passed, surrounded by family. His passing will likely hit many hard, due to the wide number of roles he held over the years, making his work an important part of many people’s lives. In addition to voicing Mario in one of his very first voiced appearances on Saturday Supercade from 1983-1984, he was also iconic for his work as Transformers‘ Optimus Prime in the cartoons, games, and feature films, Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh, and provided his talents in series like Knight Rider, 1981’s Spider-Man, and the animated Dungeons & Dragons series. He was nominated for an Emmy in 2011, and won a Lifetime Achievement award from the Emmys in 2023.
Source: Hollywood Reporter