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

Alien
1979
WALL·E
2008
Star Wars
1977
Raiders of the Lost Ark
1981
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2015
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
1984
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
1999
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
1989
Star Trek
2009
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
2005
The Empire Strikes Back
1980
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
2008

FILMOGRAPHY

All
Movies
TV
Acting
43
Directing
13
Writing
5
Producing
1
Editing
9
Sound
47
Crew
2
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
2021
Jet Jockeys in Love: The Making of CHAIN LIGHTNING ('50)
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
WALL·E
as WALL·E / M-O (voice)
2008
WALL·E's Treasures & Trinkets
as WALL·E / M-O (voice)
2008
BURN·E
as WALL·E / M-O (voice) (uncredited)
2008
Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds from the Sound Up
2008
RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World”
as Self
2007
The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk
as Self
2007
Fog City Mavericks
as Self
2007
Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001
as Self
2006
Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon
as Self
2006
Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet
as Self
2005
Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema
as Self
2005
Within a Minute: The Making of Star Wars Episode III
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
George Lucas: Creating an Empire
as Self
2002
State of the Art: The Pre-Visualization of 'Episode II'
as Self
2002
From Puppets to Pixels: The Making of Star Wars Episode II
as Self
2002
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
as Wat Tambor (uncredited)
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
Star Wars: Music by John Williams
as Self
1980
The Making of The Empire Strikes Back
as Self
1980
SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back
as Self
A Bucket of Water and a Glass Matte