Peter Cullen is best known as the voice of Optimus Prime from Michael Bay’s Transformers films. Aside from lending his voice to the iconic Autobot, both in the animated and live-action movies, he also portrayed Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh and Monterey Jack from Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers.
As a voice actor, it is important to stay healthy and keep everything in moderation. Cullen admitted he had suffered from using his vocal chords too much for projects, much to his mother’s dismay.
Peter Cullen Almost Ruptured His Vocal Chords After Too Much Voice Acting
Peter Cullen sat in an interview and discussed his career as a voice talent. The Canadian star was classically trained at the National Theatre School of Canada, but he shifted to voice acting in the early 1980s. He first voiced Optimus Prime in 1984.
As he has been doing this profession for many years, he had his fair share of disastrous circumstances. He shared to Collider:
“I remember I had just finished King Kong, and I had been coughing up blood because it demanded so much [roars]. Anyway, a couple hours after that, I had to go and do Optimus Prime. I don’t know how I pulled it off, but I think Optimus Prime sounded about an octave-and-a-half higher than he normally did.”
This definitely sounded like a health scare, especially to Cullen’s mother who was not so keen about his passion for voice acting. Cullen stated:
“My mom used to say, ‘Peter, don’t do this, you’re going to ruin your voice! It’s going to stay like that!’”
The voice actor went on to discuss his time as a student and shared what he has learned from his education:
“When I was an acting student, I studied under an operatic coach named Bernard Diamant from New York. He described the basic instrument, as we all have, the human voice. I was particularly impressed with a remark that he made: A baby, when it’s born, has the most perfect vocal ability.”
He noted how opera singers study and do their best to return to that state through the use of their diaphragms, the expansion of air in the lungs, and the usage of tonal cavities in the upper chest and head.
How Peter Cullen Landed The Role Of Optimus Prime
In another interview with Collider, Peter Cullen shared how his military brother, Larry, helped him snag the role of Optimus Prime. Upon telling him that he was going to audition as “a truck,” Cullen got some advice:
“Peter, if you’re gonna be a hero, be a real hero. Don’t be one of those Hollywood pretenders, don’t go yelling and screaming and pretending you’re a tough guy. Be strong enough to be gentle.”
He took the words to heart and practiced on his way to work. Three weeks later, he found out he got the job. Cullen revealed he impersonated his brother’s voice as it sounded very commanding, which is the perfect voice for a leader like Optimus Prime.
