The Voice Behind My Brother’s Hero by Johanna Vickers I was with my brother when we heard the news.

We were away on a trip together when word came that Peter Cullen—the unmistakable voice of Optimus Prime—had died.

And I immediately knew what that news would mean to Nathan.

There are people we never meet who somehow become part of our family's story anyway. Peter Cullen was one of those people in ours, because Optimus Prime has been part of my brother's world for as long as I can remember.

If you know him you know Optimus isn't just a character he liked as a kid.

Optimus Prime is woven into his childhood.

He is part of those core memories that survive everything

else—the years, adulthood, marriage, work and all the responthat

eventually replace Saturday mornings spent watching cartoons and playing with toys on the floor.

And because he is part of Nathan's childhood, he is part of mine, too.

There are certain things that become inseparable from the people we love. I can't see Optimus Prime without thinking of my brother.

And I can't hear Optimus Prime without hearing Peter Cullen.

Cullen, who died Aug. 26 at his Los Angeles home at age 85, gave Optimus something far greater than a memorable voice. Somehow, through that deep, steady delivery, he made a giant transforming robot feel like a real leader.

Optimus was brave without being reckless. Powerful without being cruel. Authoritative without constantly needing to prove his authority.

For a little boy watching Transformers, he was simply the coolest hero imaginable.

But as adults, maybe we understand a little better why heroes like Optimus mattered so much.

He represented something. Leadership. Loyalty. Courage. Sacrifice. Protecting people who needed protecting. Standing beside your friends when things got hard. Doing what was right even when doing what was right came at a cost.

And Peter Cullen understood that from the very beginning. When Cullen auditioned for Transformers in 1984, he drew inspiration from his older brother, Larry, a U.S. Marine veteran who had served in Vietnam. His brother encouraged him not to play Optimus like the stereotypical Hollywood action hero. A real hero didn't need to scream and boast. He could be strong— and still be gentle.

Cullen took that advice into the audition. And a legend was born. He originated the voice of Optimus Prime in the 1984 animated Transformers series and continued returning to the character across generations, eventually bringing that same unmistakable voice to the blockbuster live-action Transformers movies.

There is something pretty special about that. The little boys who sat in front of television sets watching Optimus battle Megatron grew up.

They got jobs. Got married. Raised families. Became fathers and, in some cases, grandfathers.

Then the lights went down in movie theaters, an enormous red and blue Autobot appeared on the screen—and Peter Cullen spoke.

For just a moment, they were kids again. That's the magic of a voice like his. And while Optimus Prime became Cullen's defining role, his remarkable career reached far beyond Cybertron.

He also voiced the perpetually gloomy and lovable Eeyore in numerous Winnie the Pooh productions and KARR, the sinister counterpart to KITT in Knight Rider. His voice work could also be heard in productions including G.I. Joe, The Smurfs, Voltron, DuckTales, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers and My Little Pony.

His range was extraordinary. Cullen provided vocalizations for King Kong in the 1976 film and even helped create the chilling clicking sounds associated with the alien creature in the 1987 film Predator.

Optimus Prime. Eeyore. King Kong. The Predator. Millions of us heard Peter Cullen throughout our childhoods without ever realizing just how often he was there.

But for my brother, there will always be one voice above all the others.

Optimus. I got to watch that realization happen while I was standing beside the same brother whose childhood memories are so intertwined with the character Cullen brought to life.

Nathan isn't that little boy anymore. But somewhere inside my brother will always be the kid who believed Optimus Prime was one of the greatest heroes ever created.

And somewhere inside my own memories will always be my big brother loving him.

That's the thing about nostalgia. Sometimes we aren't simply remembering a television show, a toy or a character.

We're remembering who we were when we loved them. We're remembering houses we lived in, rooms we played in, people who sat beside us and a time when the world seemed considerably simpler.

Those memories become landmarks in our lives. And every once in a while, something happens that reminds us just how far we've traveled from them.

Hearing about Peter Cullen's death while I was traveling with my brother was one of those moments for me.

There we were, decades removed from those childhood years, together when the voice behind one of Nathan's greatest childhood heroes fell silent.

Except, of course, it hasn't really fallen silent. Push play. And there it is. That voice. Steady. Powerful. Familiar. For Nathan and millions of other children of the '80s, Peter Cullen didn't simply provide the voice of Optimus Prime.

He gave a childhood hero his heart. And long after the man behind that voice is gone, a generation will still hear him and remember exactly what it felt like to believe that good could defeat evil, heroes protected the weak and a true leader could inspire everyone around him to become something better.

For my big brother, Optimus Prime will always be one of those heroes.

And for me, Optimus Prime will always make me think of my Nathan.

Till all are one.