Optimus Prime

What can I say that has not been said? To me, Peter Cullen absolutely IS the definitive Optimus Prime. His G1 take still holds up even today; the advice he took from his brother - for a soft spoken, more compassionate leader - made Optimus the great commanding presence he is in the Transformers verse... and, when he reprised in 2007, the age and rasp his voice had developed ENRICHED that performance further; his Optimus now sounded weathered and seasoned, but still remained soft, compassionate and even resolved (or ANGRY) when necessary. Even when he's stuck with more lacking material, Peter's passion for this characters manages to shine through.

David Kaye and Neil Kaplan tie for second place for me. Kaye has the advantage of voicing my favourite iteration of Optimus but, as a younger, less experienced leader, he really sold me as a noble, humble bot finding his rhythm as a commanding office. His voice here also strikes me as a meld between Nolan North and George Newbern, which is also awesome. Neil Kaplan was a standout in a mediocre series: his voice sounded suitably authoritative and powerful, as well as confident; would like to hear him reprise with his own now-deeper, slightly raspier voice as a chance to play against type.

Garry Chalk, Jon Bailey and Robert Belgrade are the other standouts here. Chalk's definitely a GREAT Optimus... but I find, personally, it is kind of jarring to hear Optimus Primal as Optimus Prime. Jon Bailey sounds like a vocal mix of Peter Cullen and Jim Cummings, but a few years younger; not as strong as his other impressions of Optimus, but still a solid performance. And Bbelgrade's voice is AWESOME; would like to hear him again, tbh.

I feel that Ron Hayden and Eric Edwards are bland and ill-fitting, in all honesty.

My vote goes for Peter Cullen, followed closely by Neil Kaplan and David Kaye!

CASTING CALL: ... gotta agree with Autovolt, Dan Green would be PHENOMENAL as Optimus Prime. I could see him using a voice akin to his later seasons Yami/Atem or Entei as an older, more experienced Optimus Prime, but could also imagine him voicing the younger, less experienced Optimus/Orion as portrayed in Animated with a voice closer to his early-seasons/Duel Links Yami/Atem. Darin de Paul, going off of his Samuel Hayden, would also be a fantastic fit. I'd also like to hear Michael Dorn, Keith David, Kevin Conroy, George Newbern, Brian Bloom, Troy Baker (especially for an Animated take), J. K. Smmons or Rick D. Wasserman voice Prime in the future.

For a potential Hollywood reboot? Seeing how his live-action model's movements were based off of him, I'd love to let Liam Neeson himself actually voice Optimus; something similar to his Aslan or Qui-Gon, with a bit more oomph and grit from his action roles, could be a great fit for Optimus. Vin Diesel (..y.es, the Iron Giant as Optimus Prime, I know... XD) could also be a solid match, performance-wise.

I thought I'd already commented on Jon Bailey, but he was good in the role.

No contest here: Peter Cullen is the best.

With that being said, Garry Chalk also has a fitting voice for the character, altough I honestly associate him more with Optimus Primal than I do with Optimus Prime.

Also, David Kaye does a good job for the version of Optimus Prime depicted in ‘Animated’.

I was going to say that Peter Cullen IS Optimus but pretty much everyone else has said that so yes he IS Optimus and will always be the best Optimus.

Garry Chalk however is a perfect successor and Neil Kaplan was decent too.

Robert Belgrade's voice is actually kinda cool and David Kaye did good for a younger more inexperienced version for him.

Jon Bailey and Eric Edwards's not bad too.

The only one I'm not really feeling at all is Ron Hayden who sounds stiff and a little too upbeat.

My Top 5 Favourite Optimus Prime Voices:

5. Robert Belgrade
4. Jon Bailey
3. Neil Kaplan/ David Kaye
2. Peter Cullen
1. Garry Chalk

Future VA Suggestions

Dameon Clarke would be Fantastic as Optimus Prime and serve as A Nice Example of him Playing against his Regular Type as Anti Heroes/ Villains. A Warmer and More Commanding version of his Scar voice would be a Solid it for a More Youthful version of Optimus.

Jerry O'Connell would also be Solid in the Role, with him using a Similar voice to his Superman.

I also recommend Justin Gross, James Denton, Brandon Keener and Karl Urban.

Peter Cullen IS Optimus Prime. One of the most badass voices I've ever heard in my entire life. Garry Chalk, David Kaye and Neil Kaplan are also very good.

I pick Peter Cullen.

1. Peter Cullen.
2. Garry Chalk.
3. Neil Kaplan.

Peter Cullen IS Optimus prime.

David Kaye sounds like a mix of Nolan north and tom Kenny.

Bailey's impression is pretty much flawless.

I still can't get over how much Garry Chalk (Primal) sounds like John DiMaggio.

Jon Bailey sounds like Jim Cummings.

I was never worried Jon. The man had years of practice. I look forward to more projects with his name in tow.

Updated VC thoughts

Like in Megatron's case, I've never been a big fan of Optimus. Nowadays, I think he's pretty overused, unfortunately.

Now, Peter Cullen does deliver a good performance as Optimus. He does seem to get into the role a lot, but there are times where the direction can hurt his performance (like in the Prime cartoon). But still, he nails it most of the time.

Garry Chalk is pretty awesome as both Optimus Primal and Optimus Prime. I really enjoyed his performance as both Optimuses. He makes Primal a more stern figure than Prime, but he still tries to live up to Prime's name.

Neil Kaplan does a pretty nice impression of Peter Cullen. I've noticed that there are episodes where he would sound quite intense and others in which he sounded calmer and softer. He once stated that depending on the director (Mike McConnohie or Steve Kramer) he would deliver a different mood for Optimus. But still, I must say that he does a bang up job.

Jon Bailey does a good Peter Cullen impression, but I still prefer Kaplan a bit more.

David Kaye works quite well as a younger, more inexperienced Optimus. One of the standouts from TFA.

Ron Hayden, Eric Edwards and Robert Belgrade are okay, but they don't leave a big impression.

It's cool that they got Jon Bailey for Combiner Wars, after all of his impressions on Honest Trailers and such. I like his take on Optimus.

I like Jon Bailey'a voice for Optimus Prime. It does sound similar to Cullen, but it's different enough to compare on it's own. Definitely in the Top 5 as far as Optimus Prime voices go. I could see him being Cullen's succesor.

I was kinda unsure about Bailey about first, but I really like his performance. He has this great, raspy aged sound.

He's my new 3rd place.

Well it was only a matter of time before Bailey would be here wasn't it?

Anyway, I enjoyed his take. Maybe a little too campy if anything, but still a solid take, and he does Peter Cullen justice. I look forward to seeing him in future projects.

Reading a few recent comments about Peter Cullen's G1 Optimus performance versus his Batyformers/Prime/RID performance, since my original reason for voting for him was the latter, I'm changing back to Garry Chalk, as G1 Optimus had all the great qualities that defined the character, but Bayformers onwards is like others said "Robot Jesus and "infallible God" well Garry has strictness in his voice but also nails the caring aspect too.

Jon Bailey is pretty awesome!

What do you guys think of Jon Bailey?

Out of the ones I voted the best Cullen V1 for me is my 1st place choice that is definitely Prime for me.

Peter Cullen V1's Acent is the best of him.

Garry Chalk V2 is the best one of him.

Robert Belgrade is the best non robot accent and the best without more than one accent.

G1 Peter Cullen.

I prefer Chalk over Cullen. Cullen was good when he was starting out as the character in G1, but the versions he played since then have been bereft of personality and the tone about the character has become too reverent to be relatable; it's hard to feel for Robot Jesus as opposed to someone you could play basketball with.

Which is where Chalk comes in. He was never held down by the shackles of expectations that Cullen wound up in, so he was always more free to play Prime as a legitimate character rather than an icon; he feels more like a leader who stands and struggles with the men he acts as a father figure to than a holier-than-thou messiah who brings about an unnatural desire in his underlings to bow to him.

1. Peter Cullen (New Movies>WFC>G1 Movie>Prime>Movie Games>G1 show)
2. Garry Chalk
3. Neil Kaplan
4. Eric Edwards
5. David Kaye
6. Ron Hayden
7. Robert Belgrade

Neil Kaplan and Garry Chalk are the best!!!

Peter Cullen will always be Optimus Prime.

There is no competition at all: Peter Cullen is Optimus Prime. No one can compete because he is the one who give soul, heart and life to the character. The others are just voice actors who are doing a job. Peter have a simbyotic connection with Optimus, he is the SPARK of Prime. Without him, Optimus is nothing: he's just a cartoon character like many other.
Peter Cullen was gave an advice by his brother in doing Optimus: Peter, do not be a hollywood, be A TRUE HERO. Be strong enough to be gentle. And Peter recently stated that he feel responsable for the children and that he want to give them a good role model. AND HELL YEAH HE DID.

Peter Cullen is the heart and spirit of Optimus. There is no other who can play Prime.

"Freedom Is the Right Of All Sentient Beings"

My favourite voice for Optimus Prime is none other than Garry Chalk. Yup that's right you heard me. I mean yes Peter Cullen is iconic in the role and he did make the role what it is but I've always thought Garry Chalk captures the qualities I prefer Optimus to have.

Garry Chalk and Peter Cullen both have voices that make Optimus sound like experienced veteran leaders but what makes prefer Garry more over Peter is that the versions of Optimus that Chalk voices are the kind of versions I prefer as a character.

For Starters Garry Chalk sounds a little bit younger, so he doesn't sound too old, another is that Garry's voice has a bit more range and infliction that Cullen's (modern) takes don't have and just feels more down to earth and personable. Optimus Primal is technically my favourite Optimus even if he isn't a Prime. That and he was my voice for Optimus growing up. To me he's a complete package.

Don't get me wrong Peter Cullen's voice is epic, especially in the G1, The 86 Movie and in some parts of the live-action Michael Bay movies, you know when he really gets to emote. In Transformers: Prime, RID, Most of Rescue Bots and other various Transformer games. I'm not saying he phones it in because I know Cullen truly loves the character, but the kind of Prime and personality he's usually giving to work with is frankly kind of boring at least most of the time. They make him too serious and stoic and Optimus will being a honourable leader, should at least be more relatable. Still Peter is second because he has played the role the longest now.

David Kaye in Transformers: Animated is third. It's not as authoritative as of the count he is a younger character but of all the Optimus that are officially Primes, he's my favourite. I loved his character arc of him finding his footing as a leader as well being humble and down to earth. Plus my favourite VA MASSIVELY PLAYING AGAINST TYPE is awesome. I mean who would have imagined the guy who played Megatron all throughout my childhood going to play his arch-rival, his heroic counterpart. Such a gusty move that played out perfectly. I love it.

Neil Kaplan is fourth. He has an awesome voice in general but I feel the direction he used here, kind of restricted him and at times feels bland, sort of like your dad trying to voice Optimus Prime and unfortunately I'm not really fond of RID (2001) which is a shame since Kaplan shows real potential as Optimus Prime...maybe someday he'll have another shot.

Robert Belgrade is much like Kaplan, cool voice in general ruined by the voice direction.

Both Eric Edwards and Roy Hayden are terrible IMO. I'm sorry but I'm glad Hasbro stopped using local talent like them for Optimus and use Peter Cullen for these little projects.

BONUS: I've said this before but I really would love Dan Green to voice Optimus Prime....why? because he'd be awesome at it. He has a deep, authoritative and still yet somewhat youthful voice. I also would love to see Michael Dorn have a stab at Optimus, he sort of sounds like Cullen but I think could shine in more comedic moments and finally Jonathan Adams could also be cool a Optimus Prime, especially since he hasn't played as much heroes.

1) Peter Cullen: A really solid performance. He always delivers his lines with confidence and warmth, and the fact that he always sounds in control really makes his character believable. Unlike Megatron, Optimus is not a yeller, he's a caring, gentle father figure who will always stand on top of the mountain and speak calmly to his soldiers.

2) Garry Chalk: As Optimus Primal/Optimal Optimus, he manages to give a pretty good performance. He manages to sound warm and fatherly, but he also adds a sense of impulsiveness that kinda differs him from Optimus. As Optimus Prime, Chalk still manages to give a pretty good performance. He even manages to perform well even with the abysmal material. A pretty memorable performance.

3) Neil Kaplan: A pretty good Cullen impression, but he also manages to add some of his own. He sounds warm and confident, but he can also handle the most intense moments.

4) David Kaye: One of the best performances in Animated. Kaye's Optimus is younger, but he still has that warmth and sense of leadership that is an important part of the character.

5) Robert Belgrade: One of the better performances in that game. Belgrade does a pretty unique take and his performance is fairly solid.

6) Ron Hayden: Pretty decent Chalk impression. He sounds stiff at times, but he's still decent.

7) Eric Edwards: Decent Cullen impression, but a little bit too stiff.

While I'm not too familiar with this franchise, or any or it's characters, I at least know who Optimus Prime is, and Peter Cullen is one of the reasons why. His voice is so distinctive and iconic, and is perfect for a powerful talking robot (even if I'm waiting for him to say "Only TOONAMI!"). Of the others, I guess I liked Gary too.

Oh, man! I was sure I was going to vote for Garry Chalk, but Peter Cullen's movie take just floored me. He gets my vote. Garry is still a close second, though.

Peter Cullen is Optimus. Eric Edwards is probably the only one that comes close to impersonating him and does a pretty good job. Chalk & Kaplan are good as well.

1. Peter Cullen (movies)
2. Gary Chalk (Beast Wars and Beast Machines)
3. Gary Chalk (Unicron Trilogy)
4. Eric Edwards
Peter Cullen (1984 series)
5. Neil Kaplan
6. Ron Hayden
7. David Kaye
8. Robert Belgrade

I love David Kaye if he was portrayed as Orion Pax rather than the wise and noble leader, Optimus Prime

1. Peter Cullen
2. Garry Chalk
3. David Kaye
4. Eric Edwards
5. Neil Kaplan
6. Ron Hayden
7. Robert Belgrade

some voice improve with age peter cullen is definitely one of those cases.

Going with Peter Cullen; no surprise, I know, but he is Optimus, period. He gives a great sense of strength and kindness to his voice that fits the character perfectly.

1) Peter Cullen
2) David Kaye
3) Garry Chalk
4) Neil Kaplan

Though I have a question: Why is Optimus Primal even here when he's not another version of Optimus Prime and will never appear in subsequent Transformers Media?

Peter Cullen IS and always will be Optimus Prime.

Garry Chalk is pretty decent too, as Unicron Trilogy Optimus Prime and fit Beast Wars Optimus Primal (Who is a completely different character and has not appeared in any TF media outside of BW).

Peter Cullen,Autobots, transform and roll out!!!

Even though my vote stands by Peter, I'll admit that Garry & David are pretty good at voicing Optimus.

For me, it's a tie between Peter Cullen and Garry Chalk. But only until Peter Cullen goes into anime.

Heh, how ironic.
Look at the image Optimus has for his live-action voice, then look at the image he has for his Transformers Universe appearance, it's nearly the same image.

List time!

1. Garry Chalk: Blasphemy, I know. But I prefer Chalk over Cullen. But only by the SLIGHTEST. His authoritative voice complements the character well.
2. Peter Cullen: The man's a legend and Optimus shows why.
3. Neil Kaplan: Like someone else mentioned, it's almost like a mix of Cullen and Chalk. Very good.
4. David Kaye: While it's a little too young for my liking, it's still pretty good.
5. Eric Edwards: Decent Cullen impression. But not much else.
6. Ron Hayden & Robert Belgrade: Both are goofy and not that appealing to listen to. Can't really put one over the other. Neither do it for me.

1. Peter Cullen - He is Prime like Conroy is Batman.
2. Garry Chalk - Grew up with him as Primal, and while his Prime is identical, it fits the character well.
3. Neil Kaplan - He sounds like a combination of Cullen and Chalk. I've not watched RiD yet, but from this clip, I really dig it.
4. Eric Edwards - Makes for a good Cullen stand-in when he's not available.
5. Ron Hayden - Not great, but it's almost a deeper Chalk, so it's fitting for the fact it's not a big budget thing.
6. David Kaye - I don't really like him as Optimus. Just doesn't have that authority, unlike his incredible Megatron.
7. Robert Belgrade - Just...no.

I've had that aching feeling that Steve Blum could be a good stand in for Optimus Prime's voice actor. However, I did grow up on Garry Chalk being my Optimus Prime. Peter Cullen will still be the original Optimus Prime, and one of the best, I hate to admit it (for some odd reason), but Peter Cullen is only a couple years younger than my dad. ^^'

Of course Peter is Optimus, so I'm not even gonna delve deeper into that. So I picked Garry Chalk. His Optimus was the one I grew up on, and I like how warm sounding his voice is. Peter's voice is great, and even intimidating as a leader of warriors should be. It's imposing. Garry's take had that leading tone to it, but also this warmth to it that made him sound more human than the first Optimus.

Peter Cullen - He originated the character and to me, he's the definitive voice for the character (and given how many times he's reprised the role now, I'm pretty sure others agree). In fact, I think it's gotten even better with age; the older, raspier voice, fits perfectly with his "wise leader" image.

Garry Chalk - He's at a close second place. His voice has a great since of authority; like Cullen, he sounds like a leader.

Neil Kaplan - He's fine. There's nothing bad about the voice or his acting, there's just nothing that really stands out, to me.

David Kaye - His voice took a little while for me to warm up to, but I think he does a great job as a younger/inexperienced Optimus.

Robert Belgrade - ... I don't like it.

Ron Hayden - He's about as terrible as Robert, but I think the voice itself is okay.

Eric Edwards - He's an okay stand-in for Cullen; like Kaplan, he's adequate, so I don't really have anything to say.

Peter Cullen is wonderful, hands down my favourite. I mean he returns in the Transformers Movie Franchise, to me he will always be Optimus. I'm sure he thinks the same way too.

1) Peter Cullen
2) David Kaye
3) Garry Chalk
4) Eric Edwards
5) Neil Kaplan
6) Robert Belgrade
7) Ron Hayden

Garry Chalk will always be Optimus Primal. And Optimus Primal will always be his own individual character.

I never knew Cullen was the original voice till after the first movie came out but I prefer that and his Prime voice than the original performance, it wasn't as good in the 80's then it is now, but it was still a decent performance, and I automatically hear that in the comics. Garry Chalk is the best replacement for having a firm commanding voice, and he always meant business, especially when he was yelling at a Maximal or Autobot, and was always strict and gentle while Cullen's 80's version was more of a gentle leader as a whole.

Peter Cullen's the obvious choice for me. And he got even better as the years went by. His Optimus voice will always be legendary.

I will say though that Gary Chalk is a nice alternative, and David Kaye's works very well with the younger version of Optimus Prime as seen in TFA.

Peter Cullen obviously. I do think Garry Chalk was a very good choice, too. He's not quite Peter, but he is very good.

I wonder what David Kaye would sound like doing an older-sounding voice for him? If he could make it sound different from his Megatron.

I'd kinda like to hear Kevin Conroy as Optimus Prime.

Sorry I accidentally posted j. HAHA!!!

If I had to rank them, I would do this

Peter Cullen- Classic! I agree with skeletonking1234 about the raspiness thing.

Eric Edwards- Amazing Impression. I don't now how he did it!!!

Robert Belgrade- Yeah he sounds heroic and stuff, but it's too much like a regular voice and not an autobots leader

As for the rest of them, they all sound like regular voices and not, well, a robot!

j

Peter Cullen- Peters original performance in the 80s series is quite good but where Cullen really shines is in the live action films, and especially in his role in Transformers Prime. When Cullen reprised the role his voice had aged and gotten somewhat raspier, and this helped his optimus role work even more and sounds even more wise and even more like a leader, and not only is he one of my favorite characters in Cartoon history, its one of the greatest portrayals in VA history IMO, and that's saying a LOT. 10/10

Garry Chalk- Like Primal is to Chalk as Prime is Cullen, and Chalk is definitely a worthy person to portray Prime in the Energon trilogy, and Primal in Beast Wars and Beast Hunters, and while I don't think this is better than Cullen, Chalk does capture the authoritative sound of Prime and the fantastic deepness of Primes voice plus he doesn't add the somewhat raspiness Cullen originally had making it more of an original portrayal of the character. 9/10

Neil Kaplan- While he doesn't have the great deepness that Cullen of Chalk had, he does capture the great authoritative side of Optimus, but I will admit the one problem I have with the performance is that it sounds more like a gruff general than it does Optimus Prime, and it is a bit too raspy for Prime. But it still is a good performance and one of the better performances in RID. 7/10

David Kaye- David is playing what seems like a much younger optimus as his voice does sound much more young compared to the past performances, but Kaye does play the role straight and calm which he does really well with the character and the way that he was portrayed in the show. 8/10

Robert Belgrade- Robert...eh. Its not horrible, but it does sound very forced in my opinion. Not just that but Robert sounds really bored and not that invested in the role. Its definitely the most mediocre prime performance, but coming from Tataki, there's not much to expect. 3/10

Ron Hayden- How do I put this? The only way I can really describe this performance is it sounds like how Optimus would probably sound if Transformers was made in the 1950s. Meaning that it sounds too chipper and light for the character which really doesn't work. Not only that but Ron really sounds kind of...I don't know what it is but he sounds like something. 3.5/10

Eric Edwards- from a series with many performances ranging from forgettable to just okay, Edwards is definitely the standout IMO. Eric has the great deepness that Cullen and Chalk had, (sounding more like Chalk in my opinion), and having the authoritative sound of Prime as well. Edwards is definitely the most underrated prime performance in my opinion and I kind of wish he would get more VA work with a voice like that. 8/10

1. Cullen
2. Chalk
3. Edwards
4. Kaye
5. Kaplan
6. Hayden
7. Belgrade

Peter 4ever as he makes Optimus sound like the wise smart leader he is.

As for the rest... honestly don't think any of them are that good because Peter sounds more natural in the role. They sound think about getting Gregg Berger sometime, at least he sounds like Peter.

Peter Cullen is Optimus Prime!

I'd like to say something about Garry Chalk. He is perfect as the voice of Optimus Primal and I was quite surprised when he did the voice of Optimus Prime in the Unicron Trilogy. I hope he plays a character in Transformers again or, better, reprise the role of Optimus Primal if another Beast Wars is made.

In all honesty, how could you NOT vote for Cullen? He didn't just create the voice of the character: he IS the character. He's brought so much to the role that many others can't live up to. He's always been the hero that we've looked up to in our youth. And while I'm sad that I wasn't raised in the era of G1 and had only discovered him late in my childhood (thanks to Transformers Prime), he still is a character that I look up to. One of my most favorites of all time.

The one that I think is pretty close to Cullen is Chalke. While not on par with the original VA, He still has that heroic and commanding presence of the original, which I like. And while a LOT of fans would probably disagree with me, but I actually liked Kaye's performace. Since they tweaked around with the character, they couldn't have gotten a better actor for the job.

On a personal note, I think David Kaye is best doing Megatron rather than Optimus Prime. If Kaye did do Megatron's voice in Transformers Animated, then I'd get the feeling of watching Beast Wars again.

I don't have any opinions for Optimus Prime's original voice in the original series because I never knew of it until 2006. But I do like how Peter Cullen performed the voice of Optimus in the live movies and the Transformers Prime cartoon. The first Transformers I knew was Beast Wars, and I wasn't aware of voice acting back then.

Peter Cullen's voice is so awesome his lines make the movies worth at least one watch. I don't mind the movies that much anyway, (although I they aren't good enough to watch more than once in a blue mood) but Peter Cullen's voice is the most epic thing about them.

Naturally, he's the best. I can't imagine anyone surpassing him, heck, even matching his iconic status as Optimus Prime. One of the most iconic voices of all time.

Optimus Prime...

1. Cullen (Movies/Games)
2. Chalk (Energon/Beast Wars)
3. Edwards
4. Kaye
5. Cullen (G1)
6. Kaplan

Peter Cullen obviously. He is Prime. But whenever he decides to retire I feel like Clancy Brown would be a very suitable replacement.

peters awesome overall
kaye's good as orion pax
chalk's voice sounds like a great leader but fits primal more than prime

Except for David Kaye there aren't really any new takes on this character. Everyone just sounds like they're doing an impression of Peter Cullen. Garry Chalk and Neil Kaplan are rather good impressions, the others are horrible.

1. Peter Cullen (G1)
2. Garry Chalk (Beast Wars/Machines)
3. Garry Chalk (Unicron Trilogy)
4. David Kaye (Animated)
5. Neil Kaplan (RID)

The best are Cullen(original) Chalk(SECOND BEST AND HE REALLY SOUNDS LIKE A LEADER) Neil Kaplan(Great voice for a lousy series)

Cullen maybe the original but Chalk has this very firm military like voice for the character. Chalk sounded like he meant business when someone messed up as you can hear in his clip while Cullen was just too forgiving mostly.

The odds of someone surpassing Peter Cullen as the voice of Prime are about as high as Michael bay making a good movie. David, Garry, and Daniel are pretty good too. Robert Belgrade is probably the weakest.

1. Peter Cullen (movie)
2. Peter Cullen (WFC)
3. Peter Cullen (Prime)
4. Peter Cullen (G1)
5. Garry Chalk (unicron trilogy)
6. Neil Kaplan
7. David Kaye

Beast Wars Optimus Primal, while great, is a separate character.

The rest aren't anything special.

# 1 - Peter Cullen (Movie version).
# 2 - David Kaye.
# 3 - Garry Chalk (Beast Wars version).
# 4 - Neil Kaplan.
# 5 - Peter Cullen (G1 version).
# 6 - Garry Chalk (Energon version).

David Kaye's Optimus is no Peter Cullen, but he does sound manly enough as the voice of reason and authority. Not as experience or rough as other incarnations, but still a calm, tactical leader.

Cullen is the best though; his character exudes authority, even with the silliest of lines.

I'm currently watching Beast Wars, and I gotta say that Garry Chalk's doing a really good job as Optimus Primal. It reminds me a little of Tim Daly's Superman.

Peter Cullen FTW !!!!

Peter Cullen is the best!!

Peter Cullen is the best Optimus Prime.Eric Edwards and David Kaye are fine too.

Cullen first, Edwards second. Chalk would be in there, but he seems to have trouble enunciating at times, and that really bugs me.

Peter Cullen is the only Optimus Prime to me. I noticed in the Transformers 2007 clip Peter is doing Optimus Prime which is great.. but while it sounds the same it is all so slightly different different from the original Cartoon.

Peter Cullen defined the role, but Gary Chalk is a close 2nd, followed by everyone else. Now what we really need is Ron Perlman as Optimus Prime.

Peter Cullen always was and always will be Optimus Prime in my book.

Peter Cullen: He's good as the original voice, I really prefer him as Optimus in his later roles though. (Movie, Prime, WFC, FOC)

Garry Chalk: I like both his Primal and Prime voices, but are good as a younger, military leader like Optimus would be.

Neil Kaplan: He's a nice balance between Chalk and Cullen.

David Kaye: Who knew that he could pull off a Megs and a Prime? He's great as the younger, more inexperienced Optimus.

Robert Belgrade: Stiff and weak. Not completely horrible, but definitely the worst.

Ron Hayden: Good Garry chalk impression, really sounds similar.

Eric Edwards: He really nails the Peter Cullen impression. If for some reason, Cullen could not make an episode of Prime or something, Edwards is the one to call.

Overall Cullen is still the best although really only for his more recent voices, then Edwards for nailing Cullen’s voice, then Chalk, Kaplan, Hayden and finally Belgrade last.

Peter Cullen IS Optimus Prime.

Peter Cullin is the best, but Garry Chalk was pretty good too (especially in Energon)!

David Kaye to voice an Optimus as well as Megatron(s)...well, good lawrd.

Instantly voted for Peter Cullen. He is just amazing. I can listen to his Optimus Prime voice all day. xD

Peter Cullen Hands down. He revolutionised and perfected the role.

Garry though was also downright awesome and I'm surprised (even a bit disturbed) that Neil doesn't have any votes :|. He was a bloody awesome Optimus too.

Peter Cullen FTW! :) But I also gotta give it to David Kaye as well as Garry Chalk and Neil Kaplan.

Peter Cullen wins by 30 country miles in my book.

Gary Chalk is pretty good, though his voice is different than I remember. He still sounds like Optimus though.

Neil Kaplan is OK. I think he was a little miscast, made Optimus sound a little too gruff for my liking, but it's not terrible or anything.

David Kaye isn't too bad either, considering his is younger version of Prime.

Robert Belgrade sounds incredibly stiff to my ears. His voice doesn't seem to fit the character at all.

Ron Hayden sounds like a weaker version of Belgrade's Prime. Definitely my least favorite of the bunch.

Eric Edwards was also surprisingly good, mind you not Cullen good, but darn close.

Fun fact: Garry Chalk's voice for Optimus is actually his normal speaking voice.

I Think Clancy Brown should be the Next Voice of Optimus Prime.

I can't say anyone else but Peter Cullen, Chalk and Kaye were ok the other were pretty medicore.

Peter Cullen-- end of story the BEST.

"DinoBots Destroy Devastator!!!!!

Peter Cullen is and always will be "Optimus Prime". Hands down one of my favourite voice actors and my all time favourite Transformer.

"Autobots... Transform and ROLL OUT!!!!!"

Tie between Cullen and Chalk. I grew up on Beast Wars so Chalk is etched in as the voice of optimus. However, in the movie, I loved his deep peaceful voice. I never knew till now that it was the same as the original though.

i will be up there someday

Like everyone else said, Peter Cullen, hands down for Optimus, no question. That said, David Kaye does suit the still-new-to-the-game Optimus in Animated.

PETER CULLEN AS THE VOICE OF OPTIMUS PRIME THE LEADER OF THE AUTOBOTS GARRY CHALK AS THE VOICE OF OPTIMUS PRIMAL THE LEADER OF THE MAXIMALS

wait what? I've always thought Peter Cullen was Optimus' human disguise.

Peter Cullen is the best Prime.

Garry Chalk is the best Primal.

David Kaye does make for a good young Prime surprisingly.

Neil is alright, a little generic, but not bad.

Robert Belgrade and Ron Hayden are pretty bad.

Eric Edwards sounds pretty good to me, not my favourite, but there's nothing really outright bad about it.

I just started watching Transformers Animated and no offense to David Kaye because he is an excellent Voice Actor but his Optimus Prime voice does not fit the character at all!

fun fact : Peter Cullens made his Prime voice like a tribute to his brother who did in the Vietnam war(I can't remember what the article listed it) that makes his version even more epic.

I'm definitely going with Peter Cullen, though I also like Garry Chalk and (to an extent) David Kaye.

Unlike the Megatron voice compare I'm totally agreeing with the most popular. PETER CULLEN IS OPTIMUS PRIME!
Now Garry Chalk is a second to Cullen. He's voice just seems to fit and I always thought if, heaven forbide, Cullen couldn't make it then Chalk should be the guy to call.
Kaye's voice is...well...he is a different version of Optimus and I can't farily compare him to the others. I'll just say he's a decent version of that character.
Also Belgrade, Edwards, and Hayden are my leasts favorites. Some had voices that were forced while others just had bad voice acting.
Neil is...in the middle. Not bad but far from great.

alright understandable

why is Optimus Primal on this list isn't he a different character?

The best are Cullen(original) Chalk(SECOND BEST AND HE REALLY SOUNDS LIKE A LEADER) Neil Kaplan(Great voice for a lousy series)

Cullen maybe the original but Chalk has this very firm military like voice for the character. Chalk sounded like he meant business ewhen over someone messed up as you can hear in his clip while Cullen was just too forgiving.

Peter Cullen. MOST MEMORABLE PRIME OF THEM ALL!

I get what you are saying but in all fairness G1 did have some legendary voice actors. I would put Gilvezan, Ross, Cullen, Welker and Bell not to mention a few others against anybody nowadays. I agree that some G1 voices werent as good but those guys are pretty solid. Have you checked out my top ten list for 80s male voice actors?

Didnt you just say though that G1 was quote 'the ONLY good Transformers series."?? You confuse me yet again haha

Peter Cullen voiced him in G1 not Garry Chalk so not sure what the heck you are talking about @optimusprime86

The artist is Don Figueroa, who is IMO one of the best Transformers artists.

I disagree with youbig time @wiiztec. I can't stand Chalk's Prime voice.

I disagree, in essence they are basically the same character. I would agree with you if you made a similar argument on the Inferno compare where those two are nothing like the same character but here I think most TF Fans agree that Prime and Primal are basically the same character even if 'technically' they are not

All I can hear is the Toonami announcer when I hear Cullen's Optimus.

It is called Transformers: Prime

there has to be. with TF Animated canned they gotta bring in something to keep the TF in kids minds between now and the next movie.

Can't wait to see who voices him in the new Series. Glad to see it wont be Kaye!

Great to see you stop by TFG1 - I am jealous I didn't get in on all the Beast Wars interviews like I did with Lion-O!!! We will get on changing that spelling ASAP!

First off before I even say what I'm gonna say personally for Optimus Prime Peter Cullen all the way.

Secondly the following is not a advertisement:

My friend Steve and I recently interviewed David Kaye, Mr. Kaye told us that the Transformers Animated crew wanted a younger sounding Prime. He did do the voice younger, but they didn't like it very much. So they had him use pretty much his own voice with a slightly higher pitch.

Thirdly to the web admins: Just so ya know it's spelled Garry with 2 R's for Chalk. He told me so. Also keep up the excellent work.

I think that's it for Prime from me lol

mobray im not sure you understand how voice compares work?? This is only for people who did Optimus Prime...

Shadow, Chalk did the voice in both Beast Wars and Beast Machines...

he sure was. wot a full circle career. its not often u get to play both arch enemies :)

be sure to check out the Megatron page.