Which actor voiced Optimus Prime in the original 1980s cartoon?

Peter Cullen voiced Optimus Prime in the original 1980s Transformers cartoon. His deep, authoritative performance became the character’s defining vocal identity and helped establish Optimus as the noble leader of the Autobots.

Cullen played Optimus throughout the American animated series, which ran from 1984 to 1987. He also supplied voices for several other Transformers, including Ironhide, but Optimus was his signature role. The 1986 animated film briefly killed the character, prompting strong fan backlash and a later return in the series.

A common mix-up is confusing Cullen with David Kaye, who voiced Optimus in later Transformers productions, including Beast Machines and Transformers: Animated. Frank Welker is also strongly associated with the franchise, but he is best known as the voice of Megatron and other characters. Cullen later returned as Optimus in the 2007 live-action film series and several subsequent projects.