His newest campaign and TV show, his favorite role, and his advice for you
We know him from some pretty iconic roles in television and film from classics such as Rocky III to The A-Team. His style is instantly recognizable, mohawk, gold chains, muscle tees…and now butterfly wings? The legendary Mr. T, who is equal parts badass and sweetheart, takes a break from his busy schedule to chat with College News.
College News: Mr. T, we are used to seeing you in your signature gold chains but you’re rocking a new look today. We have to know, what are you doing in butterfly wings?
Mr. T: The reason I’m in butterfly wings is because I’m the spokesperson for Fuze Iced Tea it’s a bold flavor-charged iced tea made by Coca Cola. They called me in, asked me if I would be a butterfly in this here campaign, I said I liked the idea because I’ve been tough all my life. I get a chance to morph into being a butterfly because the butterfly’s career mirrors my own. Before a butterfly becomes a butterfly what is he? He’s a worm. A worm. A caterpillar! People stepping on him, ants trying to eat him, birds trying to get him but he goes into this here cocoon and he morphs into a beautiful butterfly. That’s my story. I was in the ghetto people saying ‘You won’t rise up. You won’t get nowhere’ and I morphed into Mr. T. I trained myself, conditioned my body studied hard, as I always say, ‘Don’t be a fool, stay in school, learn the golden rule’, and that’s what I did. When they asked me about the idea of being a butterfly in the Fuze campaign I said, ‘I’ll do it! I’ll do it! I’ll do it!’ and then I told the people at Fuze, you did the right thing by picking me. How can you promote iced tea without Mr. T? Think about that for a second. That’s unbelievable. That’s unheard of. Matter fact, it’s against the law. Matter fact it would be fraud and deception to promote iced tea without Mr. T. You know that should be a law, I’m going to pass that bill in congress next week. I’m inviting some friends and strangers and letting the world know about Fuze. I want everyone to know what we’re doing and what it tastes like. See once they taste it, they say ‘Hey, this is why Mr. T was wearing wings. This is what he was talking about. This stuff is pretty good.I want some more!’ Other people ask me ‘Hey, Mr. T where can I get it?’ So, I tell them. Or they say ‘Hey, Mr. T what’s up with the wings?’ You know? Or ‘What’re you doing?’ and I tell them, hey go to fuzebev.com and you can see the commercial you can see why I’m wearing the wings. I say hey, go to the local store and tell them you want them to stock up with Fuze Lemon Iced Tea. that’s Mr. T’s favorite.
CN: So the Lemon Iced Tea is the one that we should get?
Mr. T: They have a lot of other ones but that’s the one I like. Like Mango Orange is pretty good, but Mr. T likes the lemon.
CN: You’ve had some pretty iconic roles throughout your career, do you have a favorite?
Mr. T: Well my favorite…what is my favorite? Let me see, let me see, let me see.
Mr. T pauses
Mr. T: I guess it’d have to be the A Team because we came into people’s homes once a week Tuesday nights. We loved it when a plan came together. We were army soldiers on the run, but while we were running from the police we still had time to help the neighborhood people out with their problems. Like the crooks trying to take over their houses or try to rob somebody, this or that. We still had time to beat up the crooks and still keep on the road so the military police couldn’t find us.
CN: That’s awesome! I know you’re super busy. What projects are you tackling next?
Mr. T: Well between Fuze Ice Tea [promotions], I have a show called ‘I Pity the Tool’ where we renovate homes for the soldiers and veterans and people in the Chicago area. Chicago is my home, I grew up there and they have a lot of areas of blight there, a lot of buildings condemned a lot of people having a rough time, so we’re going to be helping people fix up their homes, renovate their homes, rehab them stuff like that. That’s my next big project.
CN: When can we see ‘I Pity the Tool’?
Mr. T: It’s going to be on the DIY Network. They just re-aired the pilot episode. We go back into production next month and I think the regular show is going to be on in September or October. But you’ll hear about it!
CN: So we can go to fuzebev.com to get Fuze into all the stores around us?
Mr. T: Yes yes!
CN: And watch your Fuze commercial. Then we will see you in the fall on ‘I Pity the Tool’?
Mr. T: Yes!
CN: And you’re going to be around Chicagoland for that this summer?
Mr. T: Yes, exactly.
CN: Can we get a little advice from you? You do it all. Do you have any words of wisdom?
Mr. T: Words of wisdom? Yes! I give motivational tips and inspirational tips but it’s up to the people to receive them. I just tell the people, you know, do the best you can. Whatever you do, do the best you can. As Dr. King said, ‘If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, go out and sweep streets like Michelangelo carved marble, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry, sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause and say “Here lived the great street sweeper, who swept his job well’. That’s my advice.
CN: That was amazing Thank you so much for talking with me today Mr. T.
Mr. T: No thank you for inviting me in. Thank you so much my dear.
