Dear Peter Cullen - August 27, 2026

Dear Peter Cullen,

It is Thursday. August 27. 2026.

Today was a hard day.

I woke up to more notifications on my phone than I think I have ever seen in my life. My usual geeky websites pinging updates. Friends messaging me to check in. Asking me if I was ok. I didn’t know what was going on but I had a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

With hesitance I started opening up the messages. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Only hours after the world lost the incomparable Tim Curry, and days before; the absolute legend that was Dolly Parton rode off into the sunset. There it was, staring me in the face; Rest in Peace, Peter Cullen. The iconic voice actor passed away today at 85 years old. Less than a month after his most recent birthday. I didn’t want to believe the world could be this cruel.

I couldn’t bring myself to do much this morning. I ate some cereal and sat on my couch in silence. The usual Youtube videos or Netflix reruns that placate my ADHD-addled brain into submission were nowhere to be found. Just me, and the crunch of my Rice Krispies. A nightmare in 4 sentences any other day. But today it was all I could manage.

Eventually, I had to get up off the couch. Get dressed. I had things to do. So I put on my oversized N.E.S.T. Autobot Hoodie, tucked ‘86 Optimus Prime into the kangaroo pocket as a travel buddy, and hopped in the car to go into work. It was my day off but a couple things needed to be taken care of before the weekend.

Maybe it wasn’t the best idea but I decided to listen to The Transformers: The Movie soundtrack while I drove in. I had a feeling it might hurt a bit, but I needed to feel it. I thought for sure by track #3 (IYKYK) I’d be a mess and have to swap it out for something else but surprisingly I made it all the way through “The Touch”, “Instruments of Destruction” and even “The Death of Optimus Prime” without so much as a peep. Eyes dry and mind filled with the intricacies of road travel I carried on.

Then, like a ton of bricks, Track #4. “Dare” by Stan Bush. A song that isn’t really connected to Optimus Prime. It’s an anthem for the younger generation in the movie; Hot Rod, Springer, Arcee, and the rest of the new crew introduced by the film.

“Sometimes when your hopes have all been shattered, and there’s nowhere to turn. You wonder how you keep goin’. Think of all the things that really mattered, and the chances you’ve earned. The fire in your heart is growing.”

As soon as the lyrics hit, the song's meaning immediately changed in my mind. This wasn’t just a raucous rock anthem for Hot Rod’s escapades. This was a message directly to the future Autobot Commander from his fallen hero. Today this was also a message to me from one of my heroes. Before the first line in the song finished the tears had already started.

“Dare! Dare to believe you can survive. You hold the future in your hand. Dare! Dare to keep all your dreams alive. It’s time to take a stand. You can win if you dare!”

Peter Cullen was truly an amazing man. I met him once, at a local comic expo. Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo before it became Fan Expo Calgary. I had met a few celebrities and artists before, usually on the floor or at the free booths/tables but this was the very first time that I had ever paid in advance and planned a visit to the show specifically to see a premier guest. In all my years going to the show I never thought this would be an option. He was a featured Guest of Honor. As it turns out, the original organizer of the show was a huge Transformers fan as well and this was a bucket list booking for him before selling the show.

I was so excited, I still remember waiting in the line, trying to plan what I was going to say to Peter when I met him. My girlfriend (now wife) was with me and trying to keep me calm but I was already off the rails. I had originally thought to print out a photo I had taken of one of my Optimus Prime figures for him to sign but ultimately I chose to have him sign the poster that was provided by the show as part of the “package” I had purchased. It was an exclusive print done by a local artist only for our show that features Prime in both of his modes backed by a sunset with a sort of glittery metallic finish. It’s a pretty unique piece all things considered. It’s in storage. I still need to get it framed. I wish it was on my wall right now.

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, it was finally my turn to meet him. He was in a semi private curtained area, sitting behind a table. Nothing fancy. He was wearing a two-tone grey sweater over a collared denim button up shirt and sitting on a stool or a chair of some kind. I was there in my usual dork attire. Jeans and a black graphic T-shirt. This one was from the Dreamwave (I think) G.I. Joe x Transformers crossover and featured Optimus Prime prominently at the top. Though one might say Snake Eyes was a little too eager to steal the show up front and centre. Trailbreaker was even on there. How often do you see that guy on a shirt?

All the planning, all the rehearsing of what I would say when I finally met him. It all emptied out of my brain like so much sewer water down the drain. I was standing there in front of a man I idolized and admired so much with nothing to say. For maybe the first time in my life I was speechless. Which is saying something as usually I can’t shut up. I was frozen. Thankfully my wife saw me floundering and took the initiative.

“You’re his favorite person in the whole world. He’s really excited to meet you.” she told him.

Peter looked at me with a chuckle, held out his hand to shake mine, and as he did he pulled me in close to him in a very grandpa-like side hug. I don’t remember exactly what I said. I’m sure I muttered something about how his work was so important and Optimus Prime is such an important character and a real hero and who knows what else. Some of the thoughts I had been prepping back in the line made it out but mostly I was just starstruck. He put his hand on my shoulder as we posed for the picture and thanked me for coming. He signed the poster for me with a quote and shook my hand again before I left. It was so brief a moment but it also felt like forever at the same time. It felt like I was meeting a family member that I had heard of but never been in the same room with. He was exactly the man I thought he was. No phony bravado, no stuck up Hollywood nonsense. Just an honest, generous, and humble man who was happy to meet a fan.

To this day that photo is one of only a handful that I don’t cringe at when I look at it. I have a genuine smile on my face and despite dropping the ball completely when it came time to have a conversation with the man I never look back at that moment and think about what went wrong. I only think about how genuine and happy both Peter and I were at that moment.

“Out of the darkness you stumble into the light. Fighting for the things you know are right.”

One of Peter’s most famous messages, that he has shared in many a convention panel and interview, comes from his late brother; Larry Cullen. When Peter was trying to develop the voice that would be Optimus Prime his brother told him: “Peter, if you’re going to be a hero. Be a real hero. Don’t be a Hollywood hero type with all the B.S. and yelling and screaming and trying to be tough. Be strong enough to be gentle.”

Optimus Prime is a warrior, A leader, and a fighter. He is a soldier. But more than that, he is a caretaker. He is a father figure. He is a goofball. He is an explorer and an adventurer. He’s so much more than just “The Good Guy” from that one cartoon. He wasn’t afraid to be silly, to be sad, or to be stern when he needed to be. He was everything a leader needed to be and Peter brought that character to life with his performance. A voice and a character that left their mark on generations. He played the larger than life hero that I looked up to, and in reality he was a man with the same integrity, virtues, and humanity that he exemplified in Optimus Prime.

As Eeyore, he showed me that we all deserve love and friendship. Even if, at times, I may not understand or believe it. He showed me that it’s ok to be a little bit broken, to be a bit sad, and your true friends and family will still love and care for you. They will help you find your tail when it’s lost and get it pinned back on. They will help you pick the thistles even if they might get poked by the thorns. That a rain cloud is not the end of the world and there is beauty to be found even in a storm.

Sure, to some it might be ridiculous or “cringe” for an almost 40 year old man, still obsessed with cartoons, to be crying over the passing of a robot man from the TV. I don’t know what to tell you. He has always been there throughout everything, and now he won’t be. I’m gonna feel a little like Eeyore about the whole thing for a bit if that’s ok. But I’ll get my tail back on and chomp on a thistle and keep fighting the good fight because that’s what he would want. That’s what Optimus would want, and that’s what Peter would want.

“Dare! Dare to keep all your love alive. Dare to be all that you can be.”

“Dare! ‘Cause there is a place where dreams survive. It’s calling you all to victory!”

Thank you so much for everything, Mr. Cullen. Eeyore. Optimus Prime. Peter.

-Josh

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