Ben Burtt

Biography

Benjamin "Ben" Burtt, Jr. is a sound designer, film editor, director, screenwriter, and voice actor. He has worked as sound designer on various films, including the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, WALL-E, and Star Trek. He is responsible for creating many of the iconic sound effects heard in the Star Wars film franchise, including the binary speech of R2-D2, the lightsaber hum, the sound of the blaster guns, and the heavy-breathing sound of Darth Vader, which he made by breathing into a scuba regulator. Burtt has a reputation for popularizing a sound effect dubbed the "Wilhelm scream", which was taken from a character named Wilhelm in the 1953 film The Charge at Feather River.

Known For

WALL·E

as WALL·E / M-O (voice)

Return of the Jedi

as 'Freeze' Officer in Endor Bunker / Tortured Power Droid (voice)

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

as Naboo Courier (uncredited)

BURN·E

as WALL·E / M-O (voice) (uncredited)

Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy

as Self - Sound Designer

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound

as Self

And the Oscar Goes To...

as Self - Interviewee

I Am Your Father

as Himself

LIGHT & MAGIC

as Self - Sound Designer and Editor

LIGHT & MAGIC

as Self - Editor