No, it’s not Optimus Prime’s birthday, but rather the birthday of the man who gave the coolest robot in history a voice: Peter Cullen. Cullen was born in Montreal, Quebec, and has been lending his voice to cartoons since 1962, when he first did voice work on The Jettsons. Since then, he has worked on over 100 projects, including the old Spider-Man cartoon, Knight Rider, G.I. Joe, Gremlins, Scooby-Doo, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Sectaurs, Predator, Dino-Riders, Bravestarr, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Talespin, and dozens of other amazing movies and TV shows from my childhood. But none of his roles has ever gained more fame than as the voice of Optimus Prime in the Transformers movies and TV series. Peter Cullen: truly one of Canada’s greatest exports. He turns 70 today.