Ben Burtt
July 12, 1948 (77 years old) in Jamesville, New York, USA
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
Credits
- 2025 · Star Wars: Droid Diaries as R2D2
- 2022 · LIGHT & MAGIC as Self - Sound Designer and Editor
- 2022 · LIGHT & MAGIC as Self - Editor
- 2021 · Under the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett as Self
- 2019 · Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound as Self
- 2018 · The Force of Sound as Self
- 2015 · I Am Your Father as Himself
- 2014 · And the Oscar Goes To... as Self - Interviewee
- 2014 · EditDroid: Rise and Fall as Self
- 2013 · The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz as Self
- 2013 · Lincoln: An American Journey as Self
- 2012 · Wings: Grandeur in the Sky as Self
- 2012 · Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of as Self
- 2008 · Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds from the Sound Up as
- 2008 · WALL·E's Treasures & Trinkets as WALL·E / M-O (voice)
- 2008 · BURN·E as WALL·E / M-O (voice) (uncredited)
- 2008 · RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World” as Self
- 2008 · WALL·E as WALL·E / M-O (voice)
- 2007 · Fog City Mavericks as Self
- 2007 · The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk as Self
- 2006 · Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet as Self
- 2006 · Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon as Self
- 2005 · Star Wars: Within a Minute - The Making of Episode III as Self
- 2005 · Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema as Self
- 2005 · George Lucas: Creating an Empire as Self
- 2004 · Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy as Self - Sound Designer
- 2004 · When Star Wars Ruled the World as Self
- 2003 · The Sound of 'Indiana Jones' as Self
- 2002 · Films Are Not Released, They Escape as Self
- 2002 · From Puppets to Pixels: Digital Characters in 'Episode II' as Self
- 2002 · State of the Art: The Pre-Visualization of 'Episode II' as Self
- 2001 · R2-D2: Beneath the Dome as Self
- 1999 · Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace as Naboo Courier (uncredited)
- 1997 · Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery as Self
- 1996 · The Making of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' as Self
- 1983 · From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga as Self
- 1983 · Return of the Jedi as 'Freeze' Officer in Endor Bunker / Tortured Power Droid (voice)
- 1980 · The Making of The Empire Strikes Back as Self
- 1980 · Star Wars: Music by John Williams as Self
- Future · A Bucket of Water and a Glass Matte as