I had no idea what the script was going to be. Don't be a Hollywood stereotypical thing, you know, the yelling and screaming. He says, well, if you're going to be a hero, be a real hero. A hero truck? This is really good Pete, yeah, he said. And he says, a truck? And I said, yeah but he's a hero truck. And I told him one day I was going out to audition for a truck. He had returned from service as a Marine in Vietnam. I was living with my brother Larry at the time. I was told it was a hero and I was told it was a truck.ĬULLEN: Work with that. RATH: So how did you land the part of Optimus Prime?ĬULLEN: I auditioned like everybody else. Let's actually hear a little clip of the cartoon.ĬULLEN: (As Optimus Prime) This new planet is rich with sources of energy. And you became the first person to voice Optimus Prime. RATH: So in 1984 there's a cartoon show based on a line of toys known as the Transformers. (SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE SONNY AND CHER COMEDY HOUR")ĬULLEN: Ladies and gentlemen, Sonny and Cher.ĬULLEN: So it ended up being a series and for four years I, you know, I could make the house payments and lived happily ever after. He was the announcer for the pilot of a new variety show - "The Sonny And Cher Comedy Hour." RATH: Peter Cullen got his big break in voice acting in the early 1970's. And I walked down the center of that aisle with these cows looking at me and I said, this is fantastic. I found one day that if I made a loud noise and all the cows looked up and to me - so I did something silly like, I know that I have your attention. And one of the greatest memories I have is I had a full dairy barn where I would collected milk pails with my brother Larry. RATH: Peter Cullen said he first realized his talent for voices when he was a young boy.ĬULLEN: I lived on a farm and I remember the very first summer I could imitate the cows, the calves, the chickens, the different dogs they had. (SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE TRANSFORMERS") But behind optimist prime is 72-year-old voice actor Peter Cullen who first voiced the character 30 years ago on the Transformers cartoon show. RATH: "Transformers: Age Of Extinction" stomped into movie theaters this weekend with the kind of spectacle that comes alive when massive, building-sized robots smash each other to bits on the big screen. PETER CULLEN: (As Optimus Prime) Humans are hunting us. (SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION") Hey, thanks for joining us on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
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