History Creator / PeterCullen

Cullen also holds the distinction of being the first voice actor to portray [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] in any language (in the ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' segments from ''WesternAnimation/SaturdaySupercade'')[[note]]however, the first live-action portrayal of Mario was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ePUeCFOMTM Harris Shore in a commercial]] for ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' home conversions shot in 1981, predating him[[/note]]. For many years he provided voice-overs for Creator/{{Toonami}}'s promos (as "the big guy"). Cullen also voiced Monterey Jack on ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' for the first season, but was replaced by Creator/{{Jim Cummings|1952}} for the rest of the series (Cummings had already voiced Monterey Jack in the five-part pilot movie "To The Rescue").

Cullen also holds the distinction of being the first voice actor to portray [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] in any language (in the ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' segments from ''WesternAnimation/SaturdaySupercade'')[[note]]however, the first live-action portrayal of Mario was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ePUeCFOMTM Harris Shore in a commercial]] for ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' home conversions shot in 1981, predating him[[/note]]. For many years he provided voice-overs for Creator/{{Toonami}}'s promos (as "the big guy"). Cullen's roars for ''King Kong'' were also repurposed for the character of Bowser in all ''Mario'' games between ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' and ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros1'' (along with a series of synthesized roars, snarls, and laughs), thus unintentionally giving him two voice credits for the ''Mario'' series. Cullen also voiced Monterey Jack on ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' for the first season, but was replaced by Creator/{{Jim Cummings|1952}} for the rest of the series (Cummings had already voiced Monterey Jack in the five-part pilot movie "To The Rescue").

Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian voice actor best known for his StarMakingRole as the voice of Optimus Prime in the original [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Generation 1]] incarnation of ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers''. Cullen might have just been the first of many voice actors to lend their vocals to the Autobot leader, until 2007 when the [[Film/TransformersFilmSeries live-action film series]] began and he returned to voice Optimus in all five films as well as the spin-offs, ''Film/{{Bumblebee}}'' and ''[[Film/TransformersRiseOfTheBeasts Rise of the Beasts]]''. So celebrated was the news that he was the former TropeNamer for SugarWiki/AndTheFandomRejoiced, under the name "Cue Cullen".

Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian voice actor best known for his StarMakingRole as the voice of Optimus Prime in the original [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Generation 1]] incarnation of ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers''. Cullen might have just been the first of many voice actors to lend their vocals to the Autobot leader, until 2007 when the [[Film/{{Transformers}} live-action film series]] began and he returned to voice Optimus in all five films as well as the spin-offs, ''Film/{{Bumblebee}}'' and ''[[Film/TransformersRiseOfTheBeasts Rise of the Beasts]]''. So celebrated was the news that he was the former TropeNamer for SugarWiki/AndTheFandomRejoiced, under the name "Cue Cullen".

Transformers also wasn't his first collaboration with Creator/FrankWelker. His earliest animation role was as Mighty Man in Creator/RubySpears' "Mighty Man and Yukk" segments on The ComicBook/PlasticMan Comedy Adventure Show, with Frank as Yukk. He later voiced Sourpuss the family cat opposite Frank's Chomp-Chomp the family dog in Creator/HannaBarbera's WesternAnimation/PacMan series.

* CastingGag: Has the privilege of sharing both Mario and Optimus Prime with the two Chrises, Creator/ChrisPratt & Creator/ChrisHemsworth.

* {{Typecasting}}: Cullen's 21st-century resume is admittedly not that impressive compared to his rep sheet from the 1990s, as aside from occasional other roles his modern-day credits are almost ''entirely Optimus Prime'', not that he seems to mind.
* VocalEvolution: Cullen's Optimus Prime voice is very much a mid-range tone in the original cartoon, but since his role reprisal in the 2007 film, Prime has consistently been depicted with his famous deep baritone, though even then it raises and lowers in pitch through the years due to Cullen's growing age. By Rise of the Beasts, Cullen's voice for Optimus is notably gruffer than in the past films, with a notably hoarse tone and slight rasping in certain scenes.

* LargeHam: He ''is'' the de facto Optimus Prime voice. In his anecdotes about how he came up with the voice for Prime on his way to his audition, when he told his brother he was going to be voicing a robot army hero, his brother (who was a veteran of the Vietnam War) advised him to not play a DrillSergeantNasty like in movies, it should be a gentle but firm presence, "a ''real'' hero." Thus we got Cullen's Optimus Prime, with a deep and echoing voice that is nonetheless warm and wise.
-->"I had the pages in front of me, and I'd gone over them, but I hadn't done my voice for him yet. But I just remembered Larry saying 'Peter, if you're gonna be a hero, be a ''real'' hero. Be strong enough to be ''gentle''.' And I just took that softness into the microphone, and I...''*voice deepens*'' "My name is Optimus Prime." ''*voice goes back to normal*'' And then I read."

!!I am Peter Cullen, and I send these tropes to any surviving tropers out there among the stars

* CreatorCameo: A tie-in comic to the live-action films depicted Optimus Prime's holographic decoy driver when he's in vehicle mode — it's a dead ringer for Cullen.

* ProfessionalVoiceDissonance: The characters he voices, such as [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Optimus Prime]], [[Franchise/WinnieThePooh Eeyore]], and [[WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons1983 Venger]] have deep and reasonant voices. Cullen's normal speaking voice is a lot more mid-range and less reasonant.
* {{Typecasting}}: Cullen's 21st century resume is admittedly not that impressive compared to his rep sheet from the 1990s, as aside from occasional other roles his modern-day credits are almost ''entirely Optimus Prime'', not that he seems to mind.

* PigeonholedVoiceActor: Cullen's 21st century resume is admittedly not that impressive compared to his rep sheet from the 1990s, as aside from occasional other roles his modern-day credits are almost ''entirely Optimus Prime'', not that he seems to mind.

* GentleGiant: He ''is'' the de facto Optimus Prime voice. In his anecdotes about how he came up with the voice for Prime on his way to his audition, when he told his brother he was going to be voicing a robot army hero, his brother (who was a veteran of the Vietnam War) advised him to not play a DrillSergeantNasty like in movies, it should be a gentle but firm presence, "a ''real'' hero." Thus we got Cullen's Optimus Prime, with a deep and echoing voice that is nonetheless warm and wise.
-->"I had the pages in front of me, and I'd gone over them, but I hadn't done my voice for him yet. But I just remembered Larry saying 'Peter, if you're gonna be a hero, be a ''real'' hero. Be strong enough to be ''gentle''.' And I just took that softness into the microphone, and I...''*voice deepens*'' "My name is Optimus Prime." ''*voice goes back to normal*'' And then I read."

Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian voice actor best known for his StarMakingRole as the voice of Optimus Prime in the original [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Generation 1]] incarnation of ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers''. Cullen might have just been the first of many voice actors to lend their vocals to the Autobot leader, until 2007 when the [[Film/{{Transformers}} live-action film series]] began and he returned to voice Optimus in all five films as well as the ''Bumblebee'' spin-off, and the upcoming ''Rise of the Beasts'' film for 2023. So celebrated was the news that he was the former TropeNamer for SugarWiki/AndTheFandomRejoiced, under the name "Cue Cullen".

Before he ended up filling Prime's tire tracks, Cullen did prolific voice work through the 60s, 70s and 80s. He has narrated and played Coran (Raible in the original) and King Alfor (King Raimon) in the ''[[Anime/{{Voltron}} Lion Voltron]]'' (Anime/GoLion) series, the transforming spaceship/robot Ramrod (Bismarck in the original) in the 1980s anime series ''Anime/SaberRiderAndTheStarSheriffs'' (''Sei Juushi Bismarck''[[note]]Literally, "Star Musketeer Bismarck"[[/note]]), Commander James Hawkins in the ''[[Anime/{{Voltron}} Vehicle Voltron]]'' (''Anime/DairuggerXV'') series, [[TheEeyore Eeyore]] in ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'', Venger in ''WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons1983'', the narrator, Murky Dismal, and Skydancer in ''WesternAnimation/RainbowBrite'', Eddie Spenser in ''WesternAnimation/FilmationsGhostbusters'', the Franchise/{{Predator}} in the original film, Film/KingKong in the [[Film/KingKong1976 1976 remake]], and [[EvilTwin KARR]] in ''Series/KnightRider''.

* BaritoneOfStrength: Cullen's voice is naturally deep and very distinct. When he's playing a villain, he qualifies for EvilSoundsDeep.

* PigeonholedVoiceActor: Cullen's 21st century resume is admittedly not that impressive compared to his rep sheet from the 1990s, as aside from occasional other roles his modern-day credits are almost ''entirely Optimus Prime''.

Cullen also holds the distinction of being the first voice actor to portray [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] in any language (in the ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' segments from ''WesternAnimation/SaturdaySupercade'')[[note]]however, the first live-action portrayal of Mario was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ePUeCFOMTM Harris Shore in a commercial]] for ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' home conversions shot in 1981, predating him[[/note]]. For many years he provided voice-overs for Creator/{{Toonami}}'s promos (as "the big guy"). Cullen's roars for ''King Kong'' were also repurposed for the character of Bowser in all ''Mario'' games between ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' and ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros1'' (along with a series of synthesized roars, snarls, and laughs), thus unintentionally giving him two voice credits for the ''Mario'' series. Cullen also voiced Monterey Jack on ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' for the first season, but was replaced by Creator/JimCummings for the rest of the series (Cummings had already voiced Monterey Jack in the five-part pilot movie "To The Rescue").

* BadassBaritone: Cullen's voice is naturally deep and very distinct. When he's playing a villain, he qualifies for EvilSoundsDeep.

* PigeonholedVoiceActor: Cullen's 21st century resume is admittedly not that impressive compared to his rep sheet from the 1900s, as aside from occasional other roles his modern-day credits are almost ''entirely Optimus Prime''.

* GentleGiant: As per his anecdotes about how he came up with the voice for Prime on his way to his audition, when he told his brother he was going to be voicing a robot army hero, his brother (who was a veteran of the Vietnam War) advised him to not play a DrillSergeantNasty like in movies, it should be a gentle but firm presence, "a ''real'' hero." Thus we got Cullen's Optimus Prime, with a deep and echoing voice that is nonetheless warm and wise.

* IAmNotSpock: He knows very well that, while he has done many other voices throughout his career, he will be remembered primarily as ''the'' voice of Optimus Prime. Though he is quite happy with that epitaph.
* PigeonholedVoiceActor: Cullen's 21st century resume is admittedly not that impressive compared to his rep sheet from the 1900s, as aside from occasional other roles his modern-day credits are almost ''entirely Optimus Prime''. Considering how almost ''NOBODY'' can hear him as anyone else (maybe aside from Eeyore), very few people are ''too'' bothered about this, himself included.
* SeriousBusiness: Because he associates the voice of Prime so closely with his (now deceased) elder brother, and because he knows what an icon the character is to children around the world, Cullen takes the role very seriously.
** This goes back to [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie the 86 movie]], when there were stories of kids walking out of theatres in tears over the death of Prime, and Cullen received thousands of letters from fans of the franchise telling him what Prime had meant to them. Cullen realized then just ''how'' important the character was and the burden that came with portraying him.
** When ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' asked if he'd be willing to voice Prime for a parody of ''Transformers'' where Prime is dying of cancer, Cullen refused because he didn't want to do that to the character, and Adult Swim was understanding.
** On the live-action films, when the writing for Prime has strayed from what he believes the character should be (particularly with criticisms that Prime sometimes seems too violent), he has not hesitated to be vocal about it to Creator/MichaelBay, the fans, and/or the press.
** During the recordings for ''Prime'', until he got the scripts for those episodes, Cullen wasn't notified that Prime's HeroicSacrifice in the third season would turn out to be a DisneyDeath. He became depressed over the thought of kids going through the same trauma as when Prime died in the Generation 1 film.
** Before the ''Film/{{Bumblebee}}'' movie called in Cullen to voice Prime, they had Jon Bailey do Prime's lines as placeholders. Because Prime had already been animated to match Bailey's readings by the time Cullen came in to record the final lines, he was asked to imitate Bailey's imitation of him. Cullen disliked Bailey's take on Prime, as he found it too rough and lacked warmth, and he feels his own performance suffered in having to try to match Bailey's recordings.
** Cullen has been very vocal about Netflix's WesternAnimation/TransformersWarForCybertronTrilogy and their decision to recast the characters with non-union talent. He not only was crushed about not even being approached to reprise his role, but felt the decision set a bad precedent that risked undermining the actor's union.
* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: Just because the live action films didn't do so hot doesn't mean Cullen slacks off as Optimus Prime. He always brings his a-game as the Autobot Leader.

Cullen also holds the distinction of being the first voice actor for [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] in any language (in the ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' segments from ''WesternAnimation/SaturdaySupercade'')[[note]]however, the first live-action portrayal of Mario was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ePUeCFOMTM Harris Shore in a commercial]] for ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' home conversions shot in 1981, predating him[[/note]]. For many years he provided voice-overs for Creator/{{Toonami}}'s promos (as "the big guy"). Cullen's roars for ''King Kong'' were also repurposed for the character of Bowser in all ''Mario'' games between ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' and ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros1'' (along with a series of synthesized roars, snarls, and laughs), thus unintentionally giving him two voice credits for the ''Mario'' series. Cullen also voiced Monterey Jack on ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' for the first season, but was replaced by Creator/JimCummings for the rest of the series (Cummings had already voiced Monterey Jack in the five-part pilot movie "To The Rescue").

* TookABadFilmSeriously: Just because the live action films didn't do so hot doesn't mean Cullen slacks off as Optimus Prime. He always brings his a-game as the Autobot Leader.

Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian voice actor best known as the voice of Optimus Prime in the original [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Generation 1]] incarnation of ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers''. Cullen might have just been the first of many voice actors to lend their vocals to the Autobot leader, until 2007 when the [[Film/{{Transformers}} live-action film series]] began and he returned to voice Optimus in all five films as well as the ''Bumblebee'' spin-off, and the upcoming ''Rise of the Beasts'' film for 2022. So celebrated was the news that he was the former TropeNamer for SugarWiki/AndTheFandomRejoiced, under the name "Cue Cullen".

Cullen also holds the distinction of being the first voice actor for [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] in any language (in the ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' segments from ''WesternAnimation/SaturdaySupercade''),[[note]]however, the first live-action portrayal of Mario was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ePUeCFOMTM Harris Shore in a commercial]] for ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' home conversions shot in 1981, predating him[[/note]]. For many years he provided voice-overs for Creator/{{Toonami}}'s promos (as "the big guy"). Cullen's roars for ''King Kong'' were also repurposed for the character of Bowser in all ''Mario'' games between ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' and ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros1'' (along with a series of synthesized roars, snarls, and laughs), thus unintentionally giving him two voice credits for the ''Mario'' series. Cullen also voiced Monterey Jack on ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' for the first season, but was replaced by Creator/JimCummings for the rest of the series (Cummings had already voiced Monterey Jack in the five-part pilot movie "To The Rescue").