The Oklahoman has posted an interview with voice actor Peter Cullen in which he talks about voicing Optimus Prime in the Transformers movie:
Cullen said the hard-core Transformers fans are to thank for his reprisal of the role in the upcoming big-budget film.
“(The filmmakers) were thinking more Hollywood big names,” Cullen said. “They did start to consider the original voice actors because of the enthusiasm and the … stubbornness of the fan base. God, I’m grateful for those guys,” he said.
Cullen was called in to audition for Michael Bay at his offices in Santa Monica, Calif.
He was asked to read a scene with Optimus Prime and Ironhide, a gutsy Autobot who was a close friend of Prime’s, also played by Cullen in the original series.
“The script assistant was there, and she started reading for Ironside,” Cullen said.
“I said, ‘Excuse me, dear, do you mind if I read it?’ Because I actually played this character.'”
Cullen completed the read-through reading for both characters.
Cullen received a callback. This time, Cullen was called to act out a more personal, one-on-one scene.
“The reason for that was, they wanted to find out if I in fact could act,” he said.
“Optimus steps out of his normal frame, and becomes … a little more human.”
Click here for the full interview.
Source: The Oklahoman
