Who Voices Unicron In Rise Of The Beasts & Why Is The Role Historic?

Since Unicron was first introduced, many actors have taken on voiceover duties. Roger C. Carmel voiced the villain in the 1980s "Transformers" cartoon, while John Noble took over the role in "Transformers: Prime." Interestingly enough, "The Breakfast Club" star Judd Nelson lent his voice to Unicron in the animated web series "Power of the Primes." But for many, Unicron will forever be synonymous with one of the greatest voices in the history of Hollywood — Orson Welles.

Welles is best known for writing, directing, and producing "Citizen Kane," still considered by many film scholars to be the most influential film ever made. He wrote, directed, and starred in many renowned movies and television programs, but one of his final roles came in the form of voicing Unicron in 1986's "The Transformers: The Movie." It was a little off the beaten path for the respected thespian, and Welles wasn't shy about voicing his disdain for the project.

Welles actually recorded his lines for the animated film on October 5, 1985, just five days before his death. And between recording and passing away, Welles still found the time to complain about the role, as he was quoted in Barbara Leaming's "Orson Welles: A Biography" as saying, "You know what I did this morning? I played the voice of a toy. Some terrible robot toys from Japan that changed from one thing to another. The Japanese have funded a full-length animated cartoon about the doings of these toys, which is all bad outer-space stuff." Hopefully, Colman Domingo has a more positive appraisal of voicing Unicron in "Rise of the Beasts" because if this film does well, there's no reason why the character can't return for a future installment.