Ben Burtt

Ben Burtt Profile Photo

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.

Career Overview

Ben Burtt has 108 screen credits in a career dating back to 1975. Their work spans 10 cinematic universes — most prominently Indiana Jones with 9 titles. Signature works include Star Wars, WALL·E, Alien. Explore the interactive character relationship maps on each title page to trace how their roles connect across franchises.

Personal Facts

Known For
Sound
Gender
male
Known Credits
108
Birth Date
1948-07-12 00:00:00
Birth Place
Jamesville, New York, USA

Known For

Associated Universes

Universe traveler — spans 10 universes

Frequent Collaborators

Credits