How did Mr. T go from the Army to fame?

Mr. T. Army military policeman and top trainee who became a bouncer, a celebrity bodyguard and then a 1980s TV icon as B.A. Baracus on The A-Team.

In the military

Enlisted in 1975 and served in the Military Police Corps; named top trainee of his cycle out of about 6,000 recruits, received a drill sergeant’s letter of recommendation and was promoted to squad leader; in July 1976 at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, given an open-ended tree-cutting detail, he felled more than 70 trees in about 3.5 hours before being relieved; left the Army in the late 1970s.

The transition

• Tried out for the Green Bay Packers after the Army but was cut because of a knee injury.
• Worked as a nightclub bouncer in Chicago, where he developed the ‘Mr. T’ persona.
• Became a bodyguard for about 10 years for clients including Steve McQueen, Michael Jackson, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and Diana Ross.
• Appeared on NBC’s America’s Toughest Bouncer in 1980, where Sylvester Stallone spotted him and cast him as Clubber Lang in Rocky III (1982), about 6 years after his Army service.

What came next

• Clubber Lang in Rocky III (1982).
• Sgt. B.A. Baracus in The A-Team (1983 to 1987, 97 episodes), reportedly paid $80,000 a week at peak.
• Reported peak earnings of about $5 million a year from endorsements and appearances.
• Won 2 tough-man competitions in the early 1980s.

In Mr. T’s own words

“So when I was 18 years old, when I was old enough to fight and die for my country, old enough to drink, old enough to vote, I said I was old enough to be called a man.” (Explaining why he renamed himself ‘Mr. T’;)

“What does a Black man have to do before he’s given respect as a man?”

“I pity the fool who just gives up. We all gonna die eventually from something or other, but don’t be a wimp.” (On facing his T-cell lymphoma diagnosis;)

“It takes a smart guy to play dumb.” (On his acting; quoted on Wikipedia)

“To the women and children, T stands for tender. To the bad guys and thugs, it stands for tough.” (On his persona; quoted by We Are The Mighty)

“I felt it would be insensitive and disrespectful to the people who lost everything, so I stopped wearing my gold.” (On giving up his trademark gold after)

Lessons for your own transition

• Excellence in the small task gets noticed: 70 trees on an open-ended order and top trainee of 6,000 show the work ethic that later sold his persona.
• Plan A can fail fast: the Packers cut him, and he pivoted to security work that used his military police skills.
• Adjacent jobs can be launch pads: bouncing and bodyguard work put him in front of the people who cast him.

More veterans who made the leap

See them all, and practical steps for leaving after a long career: How do I transition from the military to civilian work after 30 years?.