Ben Burtt

Ben Burtt is a sound designer, film editor, director, screenwriter, and voice actor. He has worked as a 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 voice 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.

Ben is also known for voicing the title character, Wall-E, in the 2008 Pixar movie WALL-E. The winner of four Academy Awards (two of which are Special Achievement Academy Awards), he is also the director of various documentary films. His IMAX film on the history of special effects Anything Can Happen was nominated for an Oscar for best short subject. He is also the editor of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Also a film scholar, Burtt is a regular presenter of programs for TCM.

Most recently, Burtt created a special film called Behold which has a dedicated circular theater in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Museum.