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

• 2026Ray Gunn — Sound Designer
• Star Wars Galaxy of Sounds — Sound Designer
• 2015Star Wars: The Force Awakens — Sound Designer
• 2014The Signal — Sound Designer
• 2013Escape from Planet Earth — Sound Designer
• 2013Star Trek Into Darkness — Sound Designer
• 2012009 Re:Cyborg — Sound Designer
• 2012John Carter — Sound Designer
• 2012Lincoln — Sound Designer
• 2012Red Tails — Sound Designer, Editor
• 2011Super 8 — Sound Designer, Supervising Sound Editor
• 2009Star Trek — Special Sound Effects
• 2008Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds from the Sound Up
• 2008BURN·E — WALL·E / M-O (voice) (uncredited), Sound Designer
• 2008Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull — Sound Designer
• 2008WALL·E — WALL·E / M-O (voice), Supervising Sound Editor, Sound Re-Recording Mixer, Sound Designer
• 2008WALL·E's Treasures & Trinkets — WALL·E / M-O (voice)
• 2005Munich — Sound Designer, Supervising Sound Editor
• 2005Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith — Editor, Supervising Sound Editor, Sound Designer
• 2004Star Wars: Droids - Treasure of the Hidden Planet — Story
• 2002Manassas: End of Innocence — Director
• 2002Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones — Wat Tambor (uncredited), Editor, Sound Designer, Supervising Sound Editor
• 2000The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Espionage Escapades — Sound Designer
• 1999Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace — Naboo Courier (uncredited), Editor, Supervising Sound Editor, Sound Designer
• 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Daredevils of the Desert — Editor
• 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Demons of Deception — Editor
• 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Masks of Evil — Sound Designer
• 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Mystery of the Blues — Second Unit Director
• 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Oganga, the Giver and Taker of Life — Editor, Second Unit Director
• 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Phantom Train of Doom — Second Unit Director
• 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Spring Break Adventure — Second Unit Director
• 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Tales of Innocence — Sound Designer
• 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Trenches of Hell — Second Unit Director, Editor
• 1996Behind the Scenes with King Kong in Special Effects — Director
• 1996Special Effects: Anything Can Happen — Director
• 1996The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Travels with Father — Sound Designer
• 1995The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Attack of the Hawkmen — Writer, Director, Editor
• 1994Destiny in Space — Director
• 1992The American Gangster — Director
• 1991The True Story of Glory Continues — Director
• 1990Blue Planet — Director
• 1989Always — Sound Designer
• 1989Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade — Sound Designer
• 1988Willow — Sound Designer
• 1986Howard the Duck — Sound Re-Recording Mixer, Sound Effects Editor
• 1986Star Wars: Droids - The Great Heep — Writer, Associate Producer
• Star Wars: Droids — Story, Creator
• 1984Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom — Sound Designer
• 1984The Adventures of André and Wally B. — Sound Designer
• 1983Return of the Jedi — 'Freeze' Officer in Endor Bunker / Tortured Power Droid (voice), Sound Designer, Lyricist
• 1982listen... — Sound Effects
• 1981Raiders of the Lost Ark — Sound Designer
• 1980Porklips Now — Military Consultant
• 1980The Empire Strikes Back — Sound Designer
• 1979Alien — Sound Designer
• 1979More American Graffiti — Supervising Sound Editor
• 1978Invasion of the Body Snatchers — Sound Effects Designer
• 1978The Star Wars Holiday Special — Sound Effects
• 1977Star Wars — Sound Designer
• 1977The Making of Star Wars — Additional Photography
• 1975Death Race 2000 — Sound Designer
• 1975Recorded Live — Sound Re-Recording Mixer
• A Bucket of Water and a Glass Matte

Appearances as themselves (34)

• LIGHT & MAGIC — Self - Sound Designer and Editor, Self - Editor
• 2021Jet Jockeys in Love: The Making of CHAIN LIGHTNING ('50) — Self
• 2021Under the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett — Self
• 2019Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound — Self
• 2018The Force of Sound — Self
• 2015I Am Your Father — Himself
• 2014And the Oscar Goes To... — Self - Interviewee
• 2014EditDroid: Rise and Fall — Self
• 2013Lincoln: An American Journey — Self
• 2013The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz — Self
• 2012Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of — Self
• 2012Wings: Grandeur in the Sky — Self
• 2008RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World” — Self
• 2007Fog City Mavericks — Self
• 2007Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001 — Self
• 2007The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk — Self
• 2006Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet — Self
• 2006Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon — Self
• 2005Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema — Self
• 2005Within a Minute: The Making of Star Wars Episode III — Self
• 2004Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy — Self - Sound Designer
• 2004When Star Wars Ruled the World — Self
• 2003The Sound of 'Indiana Jones' — Self
• 2002Films Are Not Released, They Escape — Self
• 2002From Puppets to Pixels: The Making of Star Wars Episode II — Self
• 2002George Lucas: Creating an Empire — Self
• 2002State of the Art: The Pre-Visualization of 'Episode II' — Self
• 2001R2-D2: Beneath the Dome — Self
• 1997Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery — Self
• 1996The Making of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' — Self
• 1983From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga — Self
• 1980SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back — Self
• 1980Star Wars: Music by John Williams — Self
• 1980The Making of The Empire Strikes Back — Self