archytele The Vault

Ben Burtt

Sound Born Jul 12, 1948 Jamesville, New York, USA 24 credits

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.

Ask the Vault

Ask anything about Ben Burtt.

Known for

Film

WALL·E

as WALL·E / M-O (voice)

Full filmography

  • WALL·E (2008) as WALL·E / M-O (voice)
  • Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) as Naboo Courier (uncredited)
  • Return of the Jedi (1983) as 'Freeze' Officer in Endor Bunker / Tortured Power Droid (voice)
  • Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) as Wat Tambor (uncredited)
  • LIGHT & MAGIC (2022) as Self - Sound Designer and Editor
  • LIGHT & MAGIC (2022) as Self - Editor
  • BURN·E (2008) as WALL·E / M-O (voice) (uncredited)
  • Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019) as Self
  • Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy (2004) as Self - Sound Designer
  • And the Oscar Goes To... (2014) as Self - Interviewee
  • Fog City Mavericks (2007) as Self
  • Under the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett (2021) as Self
  • From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga (1983) as Self
  • R2-D2: Beneath the Dome (2001) as Self
  • Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery (1997) as Self
  • Star Wars: Within a Minute - The Making of Episode III (2005) as Self
  • George Lucas: Creating an Empire (2005) as Self
  • The Force of Sound (2018) as Self
  • The Making of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' (1996) as Self
  • RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World” (2008) as Self
  • SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) as Self
  • Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema (2005) as Self
  • The Making of The Empire Strikes Back (1980) as Self
  • WALL·E's Treasures & Trinkets (2008) as WALL·E / M-O (voice)