Mr. T talks his new show, DIY Network's 'I Pity the Tool' [Exclusive Interview]

Iconic as ‘80s personalities can be, Mr. T — with his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, gold jewelry and catchphrase “I Pity the Fool” — remains as vital a celebrity as ever 30-plus years later. Known best for his performances as B.A. Baracus from The A-Team TV series and Clubber Lang in Rocky III, his career extends to everything from being a bouncer to music, wrestling, body guarding, being a military squad leader and more. To this day, he continues to thrive in the public spotlight thanks to two separate new projects.

The first is his newest reality series I Pity the Tool, the home improvement show where the TV personality teams up with Tiffany Brooks, HGTV Design Star winner, and a team of construction tough guys to remodel homes for Chicago family each week. The show premiered just this past Saturday at 11 PM on the DIY Network. It was considered a very impacting episode for the personality, as he learned the home he rebuilt belonged to a man he met decades ago in a veterans hospital.

In addition to this new program, Mr. T also teams up with Fuze Iced Tea to promote National Iced Tea Day on June 10. While having Mr. T sell tea seems like a no-brainer, having the muscle man dressed as a butterfly is one campaign people may not expect. Why is the action star spotting tough guy advice while fluttering wings? Let him tell you himself.

In an exclusive interview, Mr. T talks about his latest promotion, working on the new show, his experiences with Sylvester Stallone on Rocky III, whether or not he’d ditch the A-Team to join The Expendables and more. Check it out below.

Mr. T Hey Will!

TheCelebrityCafe.com: Hey, how you doing?

MT: Great, brother, great. Yyyyeeeaaahhhhh!

TCC: Great! So first I wanted to ask you, what attracted you to I Pity the Tool?

MT: What attracted me to I Pity the Tool is this: They said, “Mr. T, you’ll be fixing up homes for veterans.” And, of course, four of my brothers are veterans, and I, of course, am a veteran myself. Military Police Unit, you know. Outside of Chicago, you know. The National Guard. And then back when we were The A-Team, we play veterans, and we used to go to the veteran hospital in Los Angeles when we had breaks from time to time and go visit the soldiers, stuff like that.

So when the idea was brought to me that —we didn’t have the name for it at the time — for this show where they said,”You would go back to Chicago, fix up homes for veterans and the other people in the Chicago area.” I said, “Wow, that sounds good to me.” You know. Matter of fact, it sounds like a great deal, you know. Because all my life, I try to use my celebrity status for the good — to go back to the homeless shelter, to go to the hospital, to the schools. Tell the kids don’t gangbang and stuff like that. So we got the opportunity to help the veterans and help other people and those in need, you know, for a home renovation.

TCC: And have you filmed all the episodes (of this season) yet, or are you still in production?

MT: Yeah, we filmed one episode already. That was the pilot. Matter of fact, it was shown this Saturday that just passed. But they are going to be showing over this week a couple times, and then we’re going to get back into production, probably, in July to finish up the season.

TCC: And when you were filming the pilot, is there anything in particular that surprised you?

MT: Well, I’ll tell you what about the pilot, what makes the whole show fantastic: the first house that we went out there and done, the guy I met him 20 years ago. Where did I meet him at? In the hospital. He had broke(n) his back. Like I told you, I go to the hospital. I’m always going to the hospital, visiting the kids, visiting the people, and lifting their spirits. And I met him 20 years ago at the hospital. I gave him a picture, and he said, “Mr. T, I met you 20 years ago. You came to visit me, and the doctors said I wouldn’t walk.” And it’s his house that we’re fixing up, and I just said, “Wow.” It was really touching.

So this show that we’re doing, the amazing part about it is, how did the people pick him out of anyone else? That’s what makes the show so amazing. You know? So it’s just touching in that way and it’s inspiring. I can go and lift people’s spirits, and then I can go back into their life. You know.

TCC: And moving onto the Fuze campaign….

MT: Yyyyyyeeeeeaaahhhh.

TCC: How did they come to you for that?

MT: Oh, that’s a good question. How did they come to me with that? Now that was interesting, you see. Because, you know, how can you promote iced tea without Mr. T?! Huh?! Tell me that?! You can’t! It can’t be done! I think what happened the first time, when they first though up the idea, the person said, “Well, will Mr. T allow himself to be a butterfly?” That was the big question. You know what I mean? That was, like, the elephant in the room. You know, because they’re like, “We like him, but will he strap up to be a butterfly? You know, because he’s a tough guy.” But no, I was waiting to be a butterfly! You know. There’s nothing like a butterfly. You know what they say. Fight like a butterfly, sting like a bee! You know, but I say “Sting like Mr. T.”

But anyway, the butterfly idea, I liked it because what does a butterfly do? He walked into being a butterfly. He wasn’t born a butterfly. He was just a caterpillar. You know what I mean? Then he had to go through tough times, he went to his cocoon, THEN he became a butterfly. So that was the idea behind this here campaign. Butterfly come around, flying around other people, lifting their spirits. You know, make them happy. Then ccooooollll their thirst. Because nothing cool you like Fuze’s bold flavored iced tea, by Mr. T. I mean, I don’t make it, but I promote it. So I say “By Mr. T.” So that’s what it’s all about.

TCC: Sweet, and do you have any favorite kinds of tea?

MT: Favorite kind of tea is lemon! You know, that’s what I like. That’s my favorite. You know. They have other brands, but I like the lemon.

TCC: Awesome. And is it true that you legally changed your name to Mr. T since the ‘80s?

MT: No, no, no, it’s been like that since back in the day. I changed them many, many years ago. Everything’s legit. Birth certificate, passport, driver’s license, and more importantly, my checks! HHHAAAA! That’s right. Definitely. You see, the thing is, there’s a lot of perpetrators and a lot of phony people going around. But there’s only one Mr. T! But I’m gonna tell you something, about how that came about. You see, I wasn’t born Mr. T. You know that?

TCC: Yeah.

MT: I was born Baby T! * laughs * Then when I became 13-years-old, they started call me T.T. That was short for Teenager T! Then, when I became 21, Mr. T! Actually, now I’m Grandpa T. Because I have a daughter, and she has them kids, so I’m Grandpa T. * laughs * So that’s the evolution of the T, you know what I mean? I’m Grandpa T, Mr. T, and I’m the man behind…iced tea, by Fuze. That was smooth. Did you see how I worked that in? Oh man, that’s some clever stuff there. You can’t plan it; you just have to do it.

TCC: Right, and in your extensive career, are there any jobs that you’ve enjoyed the most?

MT: Well, the jobs I enjoyed the most… Uh, there were a couple. The one that stands out was when I was a bodyguard. I bodyguard Muhammad Ali, Leon Spinks, Michael Jackson … what’s the guy? The Blues Brother. Jim Belushi? No, what’s his name? John Belushi.

TCC: Yeah, John Belushi.

MT: Yeah, yeah. There were other people. But I loved bodyguarding the fighters. I liked the fighters. Because, every once in a while, you’ll get in a scuffle with a fan who don’t like him, then I punch a fan. I mean, I don’t like punching fans, but that ain’t right if he’s being disrespectful, you know.

But that was fun. I liked being a bodyguard, because it was my job to get the clients from point A to point B, without being molested or something like that, you know. So I enjoy that. And then I bodyguarded Muhammad Ali, he’s my childhood hero. So it was just amazing, you know. To be around him, bodyguarding him, listening to the wisdom, the things he was saying and telling me, you know. So that was good.

TCC: Awesome, and I’m a big fan of Rocky III, and so I ….

MT: That was the best Rocky. That was the best Rocky.

TCC: Do you have any favorite memories, either from the set or doing promotions for that movie?

MT: Oh, I got a lot of good memories. I remember when Rocky picked me. I had to audition for the part, and stuff like that. And then part of the auditions, I delivered the lines, read about ten pages, and then (later) I had to box him in the ring. I had to box him for one round, which was three minutes. And part of the audition, you were hitting him, and he was saying, “Hit me harder. Hit me harder, Mr. T.” And I said, “This guy don’t know.” You know, I didn’t want to him too hard, because he may not give me the part. But I didn’t want to hit him too soft, so he can’t feel anything. So I’m boxing him, and I said, “He don’t know, I’ll knock his ass out.”

So that was a rough situation. I had to say, “Do I really knock him out?” You know. So I hit him hard enough to let him know I got something. Because if I hit him too hard, it’s like, “You’re out of the movie, Mr. T.” But anyway, it worked out. And then, doing the movie, there was a lot of dialogue and all of that. Because, at first, the character of Clubber Lang was supposed to be from New York, but, you know, I’m from Chicago. So he said, “I want you to be from Chicago. You do you’re thing. You do what you do.” He said, “What would you do in this situation. You say what you would say ordinarily.” I went with it, and that’s it. That’s how we came up “I Pity the Fool.” That’s how we came up with that line where I said “Hey woman.” That line where I said, “When we fighting?” So he let me be me, because that’s what I’d do.

TCC: Great, and I’m hearing that Stallone is cooking up Expendables 4 right now. Is there any hope you can be in that movie?

MT: Nah, I won’t be in Expendables 4, or even Expendable 1, because that’s a lie. Because number one, I’m not expendable! And number two, when you’re on the A-Team, you can’t go around being on other teams and whatnot. Expendables is a rip-off of The A-Team! You know what I mean? Think about it. You got about 20 guys. The A-Team, we got four guys in the league. So if I’m a member of The A-Team, we couldn’t loan ourselves out to be Expendable. You feelin’ what I’m saying? When we’re on the A-Team, we love it when a plan comes together. An Expendable, they’re just killing everyone in sight. In The A-Team, we didn’t kill nobody. You know, we kill them with our jokes.
* laughs *

But I’m just joking, you know. It’s a good show, The Expendables. But no, I’m an A-Team guy, you know. That’s what I am.

TCC: Definitely. And just before I go, can you tell me about any projects you’re working on at the moment besides the two we talked about?

MT: That’s it. That keeps me busy. Fuze bold flavored iced tea and I Pity the Tool. That’s what I’m doing, just rocking out, doing those two things. They will keep me busy for a while. I hope. If not, I pity the fool.

I Pity The Tool can be seen on DIY Network throughout the summer. To check listings and to watch clips and episodes from the show, check here here.

To watch Mr. T’s Fuze promotions, click on the video below:

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