Ben Burtt

Person

Ben Burtt

Sound 78 July 12, 1948

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…

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Known for

Popular titles

Star Wars

Star Wars

8.2 1977 Movie
WALL·E

WALL·E

8.1 2008 Movie
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

7.2 2015 Movie
The Empire Strikes Back

The Empire Strikes Back

8.4 1980 Movie
Return of the Jedi

Return of the Jedi

7.9 1983 Movie
Alien

Alien

8.2 1979 Movie
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

6.6 1999 Movie
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

7.5 2005 Movie
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

6.6 2002 Movie
Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark

7.9 1981 Movie
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

7.9 1989 Movie
Star Trek

Star Trek

7.4 2009 Movie

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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.

Filmography

Movies and shows, newest first

  1. 2026
    Ray Gunn

    Movie Sound Designer

  2. 2022
    LIGHT & MAGIC

    TV show Self - Sound Designer and Editor

  3. 2021
    Under the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett

    Movie Self

  4. 2021
    Star Wars Galaxy of Sounds

    TV show Sound Designer

  5. 2021
    Jet Jockeys in Love: The Making of CHAIN LIGHTNING ('50)

    Movie Self

  6. 2019
    Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound

    Movie Self

  7. 2018
    The Force of Sound

    Movie Self

  8. 2015
    Star Wars: The Force Awakens

    Movie Sound Designer

  9. 2015
    I Am Your Father

    Movie Himself

  10. 2014
    The Signal

    Movie Sound Designer

  11. 2014
    And the Oscar Goes To...

    Movie Self - Interviewee

  12. 2014
    EditDroid: Rise and Fall

    Movie Self

  13. 2013
    The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz

    Movie Self

  14. 2013
    Star Trek Into Darkness

    Movie Sound Designer

  15. 2013
    Escape from Planet Earth

    Movie Sound Designer

  16. 2013
    Lincoln: An American Journey

    Movie Self

More credits
  1. 2012
    Lincoln

    Movie Sound Designer

  2. 2012
    009 Re:Cyborg

    Movie Sound Designer

  3. 2012
    John Carter

    Movie Sound Designer

  4. 2012
    Wings: Grandeur in the Sky

    Movie Self

  5. 2012
    Red Tails

    Movie Sound Designer

  6. 2012
    Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of

    Movie Self

  7. 2011
    Super 8

    Movie Sound Designer

  8. 2009
    Star Trek

    Movie Special Sound Effects

  9. 2008
    WALL·E's Treasures & Trinkets

    Movie WALL·E / M-O (voice)

  10. 2008
    Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds from the Sound Up

    Movie

  11. 2008
    BURN·E

    Movie WALL·E / M-O (voice) (uncredited)

  12. 2008
    RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World”

    Movie Self

  13. 2008
    WALL·E

    Movie WALL·E / M-O (voice)

  14. 2008
    Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

    Movie Sound Designer

  15. 2007
    Fog City Mavericks

    Movie Self

  16. 2007
    Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001

    Movie Self

  17. 2007
    The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk

    Movie Self

  18. 2006
    Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet

    Movie Self

  19. 2006
    Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon

    Movie Self

  20. 2005
    Munich

    Movie Sound Designer

  21. 2005
    Within a Minute: The Making of Star Wars Episode III

    Movie Self

  22. 2005
    Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema

    Movie Self

  23. 2005
    Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

    Movie Editor

  24. 2005
    George Lucas: Creating an Empire

    Movie Self