In short
Mr. T’s life story and values—how faith, family, and “cause” shaped his rise from poverty to wrestling/TV stardom, plus his experiences with Muhammad Ali, the Rocky III casting, and Make-A-Wish visits to terminally ill children.
Guest backgrounds
The guest is Mr. T (born in Chicago, raised in public housing/projects; seven brothers, four sisters; father was a minister who left the home to qualify for welfare). Host is Stephanie McMahon (WWE/Fanatics; interviews Mr. T).
Key claims
Mr. T says he stayed grounded by God and his mother’s teachings (“love conquered,” “don’t forget to pray,” “don’t forget the less fortunate”). He claims he won a “toughest bouncer” contest because his money would go to his church, not because he was the roughest. He frames his violence as protective—“nobody mess with your mother and your sisters”—and says he avoided gangs/drinking. He credits Pastor Hardy and faith for turning his fame into service, especially through Make-A-Wish.
Notable examples
Rocky III casting after winning the bouncer contest; Muhammad Ali meeting three times (including Ali visiting his high school); WrestleMania experiences; visiting Make-A-Wish child Ryan with cystic fibrosis; later hosting multiple terminally ill kids and praying with them.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOIntroduction to Mr. T
0:00 to 0:25
Mr. T discusses his pride in being recognized as an icon.
“Some people use ChatGPT to answer questions.”
Introduction to Mr. T
1:31 to 2:28
Mr. T discusses his pride in being recognized as an icon.
“You're the best field operative I've ever had.”
Mr. T's Humble Beginnings
2:28 to 2:49
Mr. T shares his experiences growing up with a large family in poverty.
“Welcome to What's Your Story with Steph McMahon, a WWE and Fanatics original production.”
The Impact of Family and Faith
2:49 to 3:35
Discussion of Mr. T's father's influence and the importance of faith.
“I'm honored and I'm humble, but I always want to be working toward that, you know, because in reason being, it's not an act with me to try to low play it.”
Lessons from Poverty
3:35 to 6:46
Mr. T reflects on growing up poor but rich in love and values.
“They say, if you can walk with kings and queens and yet not lose the common touch.”
Dreams of Greatness
6:46 to 11:08
Mr. T shares his childhood dreams and determination to succeed.
“Sure, we didn't get toys at Christmas and stuff like that.”
Becoming a Bouncer and Contest Winner
11:08 to 14:00
Mr. T recounts his experience as a bouncer and winning a contest.
“It's easy for me to forget that, but I didn't, you know.”
Mr. T's Journey to Winning the Toughest Bouncer Contest
14:00 to 17:28
Learn how Mr. T won a bouncer contest through his strong personal cause.
“I said, now that I'm a bouncer, I'm a doorman, you know, and explain the situation.”
Transitioning from Bouncer to Hollywood
17:28 to 19:18
Discover the pivotal moment that led Mr. T from being a bouncer to acting in Hollywood.
“The owner gave me a week off, and I came back to say, hey, we got a call from Hollywood.”
The Impact of Muhammad Ali on Mr. T's Life
19:18 to 22:48
Explore the significant moments where Muhammad Ali influenced Mr. T's career.
“He was the bodyguard of the Gillies Bar in Texas.”
Show all 37 chapters
WrestleMania and Crossovers in Pop Culture
22:48 to 24:54
Mr. T shares his experiences and reflections on WrestleMania and its cultural significance.
“Remember, because I just seen this show with Ali up in the room when Mickey trying to pack up the leave and say, you can't beat this guy.”
Reflecting on Wrestling Icons and Legacy
24:54 to 28:00
Listen to Mr. T's thoughts on wrestling icons and the legacy they leave behind.
“And you were and still are such a huge—you are.”
Memories of the A-Team and Wrestling Legends
28:00 to 30:48
Learn about personal experiences and memories related to wrestling legends and the A-Team.
“We met and then we get to do an A-team and we get to, we were going places.”
Lessons from Growing Up with Brothers
33:12 to 38:26
Understand the life lessons learned from growing up in a tough environment with strong family values.
“Did growing up with seven older brothers, I mean, that must have been tough, right?”
Honoring Family and Overcoming Adversity
38:26 to 42:00
Hear about the importance of family honor and resilience in facing life's challenges.
“That's the only reason we would go to jail.”
Overcoming Challenges and Staying True to Values
42:00 to 43:20
Learn about Mr. T's struggles with peer pressure and personal integrity.
“And right then, I would want to have committed suicide because then I would know I have dishonored my mother.”
Impact of Meeting a Dying Child
43:20 to 45:30
Mr. T shares a touching story about a young fan with cystic fibrosis.
“And that's a part in the dark that sort of pissed me off.”
Lessons from Growing Up Poor
45:30 to 47:40
Discover how Mr. T's upbringing influenced his view on success and integrity.
“T, that's all he talked about, that he met you and you was his hero.”
The Calling and Spiritual Guidance
47:40 to 50:00
Mr. T discusses his spiritual journey and the influence of his mother.
“Because a lot of people are dream killers.”
Navigating Family Dynamics and Success
50:00 to 51:40
Explore the complexities of family relationships amidst personal success.
“So as my brothers got a little older, they sort of left God and didn't whatever, you know.”
Auditioning for a Life-Changing Role
51:40 to 56:01
Mr. T recounts his audition process for the role of Clubber Lang in Rocky III.
“I said, number one, as a Christian, I thought God made me.”
Mr. T's Audition Story
56:01 to 57:20
Hear Mr. T recount his audition experience for a significant role.
“Then he said, I want you to do one more thing.”
Influence of Family on Storytelling
57:21 to 59:18
Discover how Mr. T's father and experiences shaped his storytelling skills.
“So how do you think that influenced you?”
Mr. T's Commitment to Helping Others
59:19 to 1:02:14
Learn about Mr. T's dedication to giving back and his emotional experiences.
“I said, I want to do, and I would always pray.”
Mr. T's Commitment to Helping Others
1:03:27 to 1:04:18
Learn about Mr. T's dedication to giving back and his emotional experiences.
“ChatGPT work is built for bigger projects with multiple steps.”
Perseverance and Overcoming Challenges
1:05:38 to 1:10:05
Mr. T shares insights on perseverance and confronting adversity.
“So one of the other things you said was left out, because I just want to go back to it, is your service in the Army?”
Mr. T's Early Life and Choices
1:10:05 to 1:12:45
Mr. T reflects on his youth, contrasting his dedication to education with his peers' choices.
“That's why we got police record, but little T didn't.”
Faith and Overcoming Challenges
1:12:45 to 1:15:11
Mr. T discusses his faith journey, including his struggles and diagnosis with cancer.
“about humility yes right you can't let fame and fortune distort who you are what your purpose is and you're very clear in what your purpose is.”
Humility and Purpose in Life
1:15:11 to 1:18:02
Mr. T shares insights on humility, his purpose, and the importance of giving back.
“Now I got to find out what T-cell is, you know.”
The Impact of a Mother's Love
1:18:02 to 1:20:54
Mr. T reflects on how his mother's love shaped his life and values.
“You said a football player and what else?”
Living a Life of Integrity
1:20:54 to 1:23:44
Mr. T emphasizes the importance of integrity and staying true to oneself amidst challenges.
“You know, so like I said, but I'm fulfilling a vow.”
The Power of Maternal Love
1:24:05 to 1:25:16
Explore how Mr. T reflects on the influence of his mother's love in his life.
“I'm glad that I was the square, you see what I mean?”
Mr. T's Connection to Soldiers and Firefighters
1:25:16 to 1:28:49
Mr. T discusses his connection to soldiers and firefighters through personal experiences and motivations.
“See, see, when I talk, I know everything not for everybody, but somebody going to hear something and click and I want to try to bring it to them.”
A Full Circle Moment
1:28:49 to 1:31:50
Reflect on the emotional significance of meeting Mr. T and sharing life experiences.
“So that's what it means to me, you know, that I'm not just a, you know, you know.”
The Tender Side of Mr. T
1:31:50 to 1:33:02
Mr. T shares moments that reveal his caring and tender nature as a person.
“I have one other thing that I've noticed.”
The Tender Side of Mr. T
1:33:03 to 1:33:33
Mr. T shares moments that reveal his caring and tender nature as a person.
“Honestly, honestly, honestly, no one wants to think about HIV, but there are things that everyone can do to help prevent it.”
The Tender Side of Mr. T
1:34:39 to 1:35:08
Mr. T shares moments that reveal his caring and tender nature as a person.
“This is Tony Ayo from The Real Report with Tony Ayo and Uncle Murda.”
Transcript
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1:13No haggling, no hassles, no pressure. Just a real offer worth real money from CarMax. Get all the details in a real offer today at CarMax.com. Want to drive? CarMax. At-home pickup not available in all locations. Distance restrictions and a fee may apply. You're the best field operative I've ever had. You were born for it. In 1981, the embassy went down. We go 25 million in the wall. Where? Hotel Tehran. This is bad. Like run for the hills, man. Do it now. I don't have the money, but I've got something more valuable. You shall know the truth The truth Don't make it free The Fix, now playing in theaters My mom had to make you liver Yes, yes And my mom did not like liver But my dad said Mr.
2:09T loves liver So you have to make him liver tonight And oh my god, it was so funny She was gagging in the kitchen Yo, I'm sorry I'm sorry I never knew that It was great. It was great. Oh, what's your story? Don't you dare be sour. Clap for Stephanie and feel the power.
2:42Welcome to What's Your Story with Steph McMahon, a WWE and Fanatics original production. well welcome the one and only the icon mr t yes
2:59i want to correct it i'll be okay okay saying i'm i'm the humble icon okay you know i'm not worthy i'm still trying to attain that you know i don't want to get complacent you know so So, no, but I appreciate the niceness, the kindness, you know, so. Well, it's well earned. It's well earned. That others see you that way. I'm honored and I'm humble, but I always want to be working toward that, you know, because in reason being, it's not an act with me to try to low play it. I've been around a long time. I've seen people come and go who get sidetracked. I never want to lose that. There's a poem, If.
3:41They say, if you can walk with kings and queens and yet not lose the common touch. I never want to lose that common touch. I think one of the greatest compliments I've had is I was at a homeless shelter and one of the guys said he didn't want nothing. He don't want an autograph. He don't want no money. He just want to thank me for not forgetting him. So, and that resonates with me. You know, I never want to get too big and whatever thinking, you know. So I've watched a lot of people fall into that, and I never want to get that way. So I'm honored that people see me at that. But for myself, I'm just a humble guy from the other side of the tracks who had an opportunity, and I took advantage of it.
4:24And you never forgot where you came from. I never forget where I come from, yes. And you have a remarkable story, as is talked about in the documentary, which is very exciting. We got a sneak peek. We got to watch the whole thing.
4:41But you had seven brothers and four sisters. Yes. And you grew up in the project. Yes. On welfare. Yes. Your dad left when you were five? Time. No. My father didn't leave. He didn't leave. He had to leave. Let me explain. Okay. The thing is, and I'm glad. See, all black men don't run and leave. You know, my father was a minister. he used to work little jobs here and there, but then it wasn't sustainable. Then they decided to try to get on welfare. They told my father, like they do a lot of black men, but they don't say, in order for us to get on welfare, my father have to leave the family. Yes.
5:24Yes. My father had to leave, and I didn't know as a young kid. Yeah, when my father left or whatnot, so that grew up, and I used to see other men in this building in the neighborhood. So why are they there? And whatever, you know. Then when I got a little older, mother told me this was the deal. This is what had happened, you know. And, but did you see him again? Oh yeah, my father. So he stayed a part of your lives. He didn't run away. He said they couldn't live in the house. Right, because then you couldn't get the money. And you probably couldn't make. My father came to my wrestling matches and stuff like that, you know.
6:01Oh, that's great. I would still see my father. He still was delivered to sermons, you know, and so, you know, so my father was there. And did you grow up hearing sermons? Oh, yeah. Did he practice around the house? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I remember as a little kid, when coming home from school, and I would see my mother and father standing in the living room praying. So that's where I grew up with God and stuff like that, had a foundation. My foundation kept me together. If I didn't have that God foundation, I would be lost like everybody else. And to actually be truthful, my story, there are other stories worse than mine.
6:40And so, sure, like I explained to everybody, we was poor financially, but we was rich spiritually. I played. We had fun. We had the time of our life. Sure, we didn't get toys at Christmas and stuff like that. But I tell everybody, but my mother, she loved me. It was cold in the winters and whatnot. And I had one button on my coat, but my mother, she loved me. I had a hole in my shoe going to school, the kids laughing, but my mother, she loved me. Love conquered. You know, love kept me warm, and that kept me together. My mother, she loved me. See, here's who I am in a nutshell. When I was six or seven years, I don't forget, I was in school.
7:20I drew a picture of a house and stuff like that. And I told my mother, I said, Mama, one of these days I'm going to be big and strong. I didn't not count my brothers. They was bigger than me. I wanted to be like them. I remember when I was little, I would do two or three pushups and I would get in the mirror, see if my chest got bigger because I wanted to be like my brothers. Everybody called my brothers Big T. Because you were the baby of the boys. I'm the baby boy. Yeah. You know, I want to be strong like them. I said, God, I ain't going. So in my fourth grade picture, class picture, it looks like I don't have a neck because I was trying to stick my chest out.
7:57I said, oh, man. Then I said, I ain't going to never be like my brothers. Then I forgot. But anyway, so the picture, I drew a picture to my mother. I said, Mama, one of these days I'm going to be big and strong. I'm going to be a football player and a boxer. I'm going to buy you a beautiful house. I'm going to buy you pretty dresses. I was up to my mother's hips and she hugged me and started crying and said, if that's the Lord's willing. And that's what kept me away from all the bad things in the world. You know, matter of fact, I'm not proud of this. Before I graduated eighth grade, I got suspended 17 times from grammar school for fighting because other kids wanted me to go against the teachings of my mother.
8:45Like, again, because I love my mother. I said, no, I can't do that. I don't want to do that, you know. And so, I mean, they would call me a sissy because I didn't hang with them. I didn't do bad things. And I remember I would tell them, I said, you must don't love your mother because if you love your mother, you wouldn't be trying to get me to do nothing bad. So that was my, that kept me together. My God, the love I had for my mother. See, because my mother used to scrub floors. They used to, other black women, they would take a special bus to the suburbs of Chicago, go out there. They was not allowed to go in the white people front door.
9:22They had to go around the back door. They was not allowed to look white people in the eye. They had to keep their head down. And they really would literally, physically get on their hands and knees and scrub floors. They was called screw-up women. And the house that you ultimately bought for her, that's okay, I do that all the time. The house that you ultimately bought for her, was it in that same neighborhood? No, it was a richer neighborhood. Okay, good.
9:57Yes, yes, yes. Yes. I wonder what that felt like for her. it was see my mother wasn't materialistic right and i tell everybody my mother didn't wear gold because i wore gold she had a she wore a wedding ring when my father passed she kept it on you know she we had to file it off her because her hands swole up when she wasn't material or whatever stuff like that and she would always i remember when we used to film the a team and i would call her and stuff like that and we would talk on the phone then I said I'm just want to see how you doing stuff like that I said okay well I gotta go now then the phone would get quiet for a couple seconds then she'll say son don't forget to pray I said yes ma 'am then she would say don't forget the less fortunate I said yes ma 'am now those two things that was my grounding thing see because we would have been so easy for a kid like me to forget to pray forget to less fortune.
10:58Hey, man, I'm Mr. T, man. I got a Rolls Royce. I got a white one, a red one. I got this. Which car I'm going to drive? I could get caught up in all that. I just look at all these dreams, goldie vibes. Got to go to the White House this week. It's easy for me to forget that, but I didn't, you know. And I remember when we moved back to high school, my coach wanted me to be a captain and I was in my junior year. I said, man, I don't want to be captain. I want to mess with the girls now. I'm old enough, man. I said, because I'm with the captain, I got to stay longer and talk about football. And my buddies already, they out there with their girlfriends.
11:36I said, man, I don't want to be a captain. And the thing that made me decide to be a captain, my brothers had reminded me, said one of the things that the duties that the captain have, the captain says the prayer before the game. And I said, okay, I'll be a captain. You know, that wouldn't move me because you say the team pray. You lead them in exercise. One, two, do that. Good there. Then you say them in prayer. Then you say the prayer for the game. I said, okay, I'll do that. So it was by prayer that kept me together. I didn't violate that. That kept me together. When I got the opportunity to be in the Rocky movie, I used to be a bodyguard.
12:18When I wasn't bodyguarding people, I used to work at this disco as a bouncer. Then I told them, I said, I'll enter the contest in BC. They wanted to find out who was the world's toughest bouncer. I said, I'll enter the contest, but I don't like that name. I said, because I went to college, I'm sort of intelligent, I would tell them. I said, to me, that term bouncer denotes a place that's rowdy, that you're fighting every night. You know, see, where we were, we were downtown, sort of on the north side. Chicago. The club was about 70 % black, 30 % white. We had a nice mixed crowd, and so we wore tuxedos.
13:02But in clubs a little further than us, the white discos, those guys wore tuxedos. But every once in a while, they had to throw guys out, too. But you called them doormen. They called us bouncers. I said, I'll take offense to that. I said, basically you're just saying it's just a black club. We just physically like that. I said, the last thing I like to do is touch somebody. I say, because I'm part host when you come to the club. Right, right. Come on in. Walk, come on in. You need to dress the part. Yeah, yeah. We jamming. Come on, do that. Yeah. And you know the rules. I say, if I catch you doing something wrong, I'm about to put you out.
13:37I say, okay. I say, you know, respect the women, this and that and whatever. That's my house rules. You respect that every once in a while. Somebody will come down there to try. You don't have to throw a guy out and whatever. So then I ask them, if you allow me that time to talk about that, I said, I'll enter the contest. And I entered the contest, and he allowed me time to explain my point of view of what a bouncer is. I said, now that I'm a bouncer, I'm a doorman, you know, and explain the situation. Okay. And then humbly, you know, humbly, I won the contest two years ago. And I say humbly because even though the contest was called the toughest bouncer in America, I did not win because I was the toughest, the roughest, or the baddest.
14:20I won because my cause C-A-U-S-E my cause was greater than anybody else cause there was 15 guys and the contestants I'm not going to call them bouncers so 15 contestants in the different parts of the country and what not they were asked one, that's all they said if you win, what you going to do with the money, that's one guy, his name was Killer laughter laughter he came in last place Yes. Then a couple of the big tough guy said, if you win, what you going to do? Well, if I win, he's from Texas. You know, he was tough. So he said, I win, I'm going to do this. That's another guy. If I win, I'm going to do this.
15:05If I win, then that's me. See, and they were having a contest in Chicago. So there's a lot at stake. I had a reputation in Chicago, you know. So you're in my hometown. And then plus, I had a bodyguard card. My bodyguard card used to read, Mr. T, bodyguard extraordinaire. Next to God, there's no better protector than I. So if I let these guys come in my town, beat me up. Right. Who's going to hire me after that? I had a special contact. I used to bodyguard Michael Jackson come in town. Donna Summers, all these people, rich diamond merchants from, they would fly from Chicago with a briefcase with diamonds to Miami and New York.
15:53And my clientele would go and they'd say, this guy ain't tough. We don't want him to protect us. So my reputation was on the line. So anyway, so then they asked me, they said, Mr. T, if you win, what are you going to do with the money? I said, when I win, see, if you didn't know me, you would say, oh, he's being cocky as a Christian. It says, whatsoever man think is in his heart, so is he. I thought victory for a righteous cause. I said, when I win, I'm going to give this money to my church so my pastor can buy food and clothes for the less fortunate people in the community. So therefore, my cause was greater than anybody else's cause.
16:32Sure, you had to be tough, rugged, I was that, whatever. But my cause was a little bit more. And I won because of that. And the first time I won, it was$10 ,000. I gave the money to my pastor. Second time I won, eight months later, they thought they were supposed to have it within a year. So I was supposed to have 12 months as the champion. Right. But they tried to catch me off guard. Mistake on their part. Yes, indeed. For the first contest, because I didn't know how big the guys would be coming in. So I didn't want to give up too much weight. So I was 235, because I didn't know. So now I know what the contest consists of.
17:09So I trimmed down, as I call it. I'm lean, mean, 219. And I was, you know. So, and I won again, humbly, and I gave the money to my church both times. And as a Christian, we are taught that when you give to God, God will open up the storehouse of heaven and pour you down blessings. You won't have room enough to store it. And that's what happened. So I gave, and I came back to work. The owner gave me a week off, and I came back to say, hey, we got a call from Hollywood. We don't know if it's a prank call or not, but here's the number. So I called a number that was casting director for Rocky III.
17:46So I called and she said, congratulations. I said, yeah. Then I said, she said, do you know Sylvester Stallone? I said, of course I know Sylvester Stallone. I watched Rocky I and Rocky II. Then she said, he wanted to put you in Rocky III. I said, wow, that's nice. So they sent me the script and everything like that. And it was on from there. So how did you hear about the television show that was designed for bouncers to get started? They approached me. They just approached you. See, at the time, I was Leon Spinks' bodyguard. Oh, okay. And I used to bodyguard Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammad Ali.
18:21So you started as a bodyguard? Yes, yes, yes. Okay. So when, see, I used to go to this club. It was sort of near my house. Then I came down a couple times. I saw a chicken out, and then the guys were having a rough time. Boy, they was getting their butt beat, you know. So, man, so they asked me, man, you come down on time. Why don't you, you know, man, you give us a hand. I said, okay. So then I worked there and whatnot a little bit, you know, off days. So that was fun. I said, okay. Then I sort of used it as my office. I said, they can reach me. You know, if I'm not at home, if you call my number, you can meet me at the club.
18:55So a lot of entertainers would come in town. They would come to the club. Which is good for business for the club and everything else. So, yeah, so the NBC had approached me. Because actually, I was the only sort of name in the contestants, except Killer. You know, he was from Texas. He was the bodyguard of Jerry Lee Lewis. Okay. So that was his claim to fame. Oh, maybe that was the killer. He was the bodyguard of the Gillies Bar in Texas. Okay. That was his thing, you know, so. Texas versus Chicago. Yeah. And Chicago won. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Humbly. By the grace of God. Humbly, exactly, exactly.
19:34But so Muhammad Ali was one of your favorites of all time. Yes. And then Spinks beat Muhammad Ali. Yes. And you were his bodyguard. Yes. And then WrestleMania comes around and Muhammad Ali is your special guest referee in your match. So what was that like? No, but one thing good about the relationship of Muhammad Ali and Spinks and stuff like that, it was like a, it wasn't like wars, you know, they said, okay, I hate you forever. It was a business. Right. See, Ali saw it as a business, you know, and he didn't know himself. He was smart. When Spinks beat him, he knew Ali, he wasn't on his game, you know, and so he wasn't mad at me for switching sides or something like that.
20:22But it was just a super honor. No, I understand. And no one made it so special because here Ali. Let me tell you my relationship with Muhammad Ali. Our paths crossed three different times in life. When I won my first wrestling championship in high school, we had a high school teacher who knew Muhammad Ali. Because Muhammad Ali used to train at the Joe Louis Gym in Chicago. He asked Muhammad Ali, would he come to my school, Dunbar? He came to the school and I had just won the city of Chicago first wrestling title. I was preparing to go downstate to defend it and to get to see who would be the state champion.
21:05So then Ali came to the school and got on the PA system to pull it and address him. He said, I want the baddest cat in the school to meet me in the gym. And I wonder, I think about that now. I said, how did they know I was the baddest cat in the school? You know, man. So the teacher know, they let me out of my division and go down there to the gym. And there he was, Muhammad Ali, my hero. I had wrote stories about him. Here it is. And the wrestling coach told Ali, he said, champ. Because I usually mock Ali. See, even though Ali would pray like a Muslim, you know, I was a Christian. I would do those movements.
21:42You know, in collegiate wrestling, you shake the guy's hand and you step back. Then you get in your stand. And after I shake the guy's hand, I would go to the corner and put my hands like Ali would when he prayed. But I would pray to my God, Jesus. I said, Lord, let me do my best to represent you. I never prayed to win. I think that was cheesy because I would rather pray to God to heal a sick child than to pray to win. Because excuse my expression right here. Damn it. If I want to win, train hard. Train hard. And no matter how much you train, you ain't going to beat everybody, you know. And so then, so anyway, that was me, you know, imitating Ali, wanting to be like Ali.
22:26And so, you know, then to meet him in high school, that's the first time. Then after high school and college, I became Ali bodyguard when I wasn't Spence bodyguard. And then, in the movie Rocky III, Rocky House was really Muhammad Ali's house in real life. It was in Hancock Park. Hancock Park. Remember, because I just seen this show with Ali up in the room when Mickey trying to pack up the leave and say, you can't beat this guy. Rocky said, what you mean? He said, no, this guy knocking the mouth with rock. the Cadillac he said then the best line in the movie to me he said he will kill you to death that was so funny that was so funny I wasn't there that day he said he'll kill you to death he'll knock it until tomorrow he said man this guy is a killer wow boy that was something you know and then so that was the third time then here we're in the wrestling and then like I said And then I met Hulk Hogan in Rocky III, you know.
23:32Yep, Thunderlips. So we became buddies and stuff like that. Then we do two episodes of the A-Team, which was cool. Then after that, so then that's when I think he got with your father, you know, say, get Mr. T, you know. And so, wow. And then the train with him preparing for WrestleMania, it was just, I tell people I was like Dorothy and Oz. you know all these things just keep happening say man this and that we got the dog we got this and that's why I said humbly Stephanie it would be so easy I can slip and think I'm so great you know what I mean think I'm so bad man look I did this don't you know who I am you know wow to stay level headed all this stuff happened to wrestling I said sure it's a different type of wrestling so you got to sell it you got to be tough and this and that and we train and man and then I'm thinking, I said, wow, would the crowd like me?
24:31I said, you sure? He said, oh man, this and that we do, they do the pop and this and that. I said, wow. It was just special being in with the wrestling, you know. But I think it was the hardest part, you know, convincing the other guys, they didn't understand the business of it, you know. They think that I was cutting in on the thing not knowing that I'm there to help them. I'm broad and the horizon. They didn't understand it. Well, and that's what WrestleMania 1 was all about, was bringing together the best of pop culture across all different sports and media and movies and everything else and music.
25:04And you were and still are such a huge—you are. You are an icon. You really are. I'm humble, man. You brought all of these eyeballs that otherwise wouldn't have been there. Right, right. And I think everybody kind of understood after. Yes, after it's, yeah. But probably not in the moment. And those are actually your trunks from WrestleMania 2. When you boxed Piper. They're a little faded. They're a little pink now. In the actual footage, they're red. But yeah, they found, the guys went and they found your trunks. That is something. That is something. It's just, wow. It's just memories. In my quiet moments, I reflect on those things.
25:49Okay. All right. So I will stretch. So, alright, so now, yeah, so somebody should be holding this part here, like that, real tight. Yep. There you go.
26:10I think we should do it in the gold, too. I can't see it. Yes, yes, okay, yeah. On this side? Yeah. Over the white or separately? I think, whatever you think. No, you call. Ladies' Choice. At least you did this. Other cheek here. Okay, we gotta prime that pen too, though. Alright, so... We'll get it straight. I've worn a lot of the paint.
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26:42Do you remember these shorts? Of course! Man, I was watching the... Oh boy. Yeah, I got it. You know, because I was watching the Rivals the other day. Oh, yeah. Before, I watched it again. I said, wow. I sit back, I said, man. You know what I mean? Do you think it's crazy that we still have stuff like this? Wow. It's good. It's rare. It's special. Who is one of your favorites? Favorite what? To wrestler, to watch. Talking about nowadays? Yeah, nowadays or in the past or anybody that really resonated with you. At the beginning or since WWE? Up to you. Up to you. It could be WCW. It doesn't have to be WWE.
27:32Wow, boy. Camera's rolling. Man, it's like one of them questions in school. Can I answer tomorrow? Wow, wow. No, I mean, I would have to say, you know, Hulk Hogan because we worked together, you know, so it was fun being with him, you know. I mean, nobody else, I haven't spent time with each other, you know, and so got to know him and, you know, with Rocky, he didn't really know him. We met and then we get to do an A-team and we get to, we were going places. And then I remember a couple of places before I was the special guest referee, different things, and, you know, so I got to know him a little bit.
28:14Not as great, you know, but we did, Rousey, he would tell me certain things about Rousey and what to do and whatever, you know, so that part, you know, so that became abundant. So, you know, we had to root for him, his style, and, you know, he had it, he had it. Wow, it was special, you know, crowded, man, he was something, you know, ripping off the shirt and all that stuff. Wow, he was it. He was the man. He was. He was, for sure. So, yeah. That's a good answer. That's a good answer. This Sunday, actually, someone who shared the ring with, Bob Orton's son, Randy Orton, is wrestling Cody Rhodes, who's Dusty Rhodes' son.
28:59Wow. Yeah, it's the next generation. Man, wow. So. All the way back to 1985. Right? And speaking of Hulk Hogan again, And I remember we was hosting Saturday Night Live. And I remember we were all in New York. We were doing this stuff. And I'm in character. I said, man, we shouldn't be on these shows, man. I said, Piper and them, they resting up. They training. We promoting. Man, I don't want to do these shows. I was all in character. Then we had Saturday Night Live. We were doing this stuff. And boy, oh, that was funny. That was funny. Boy. I said, man, Liberace is Saturday Night Live. Right. That man.
29:40And then we got to rattle the next morning. I mean, not the next morning, afternoon. I said, oh, man, this is too much, you know. So it was wild. It was fun, right? Yes, yes, yes. That was something. That was something. A lot of memories. A lot of memories. You had to be there. We talk a lot about iconic stories on this show. And when it comes to sports entertainment or professional wrestling, no stories are bigger than the ones written by WWE legends. Superstars like Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, trailblazers like Trish Stratus, and factions like the NWO and DX. Their legacies are unforgettable.
30:22And if you want to wear that history, you need the real deal. That's why you've got to check out WWE Shop and Fanatics. They have the ultimate lineup of official WWE Legends merchandise. We're talking classic graphic tees, premium vintage hoodies, and retro gear. Whether you're hitting a live show or just repping your favorite era on the street, Fanatics has you covered. Don't wait. Head over to www.shop.com and fanatics.com right now and grab your favorite Legends gear. ChatGPT can do more than answer questions. It can help you get real work done. ChatGPT work is built for bigger projects with multiple steps.
31:04You bring the goal along with the information it needs, like briefs, notes, files, feedback, calendars, data sets, or project plans. Then ChatGPT can help turn all of that into something useful. An analysis, a tracker, a deck outline, a prototype, or a workflow you can keep shaping. It can also use approved apps, connected tools, files, and browser contexts to help move the work forward. And you stay in control. You give direction, review drafts, approve actions, redirect the work, and choose the final output. So you spend less time sorting through busy work and more time making progress on the work that matters.
31:44Put ChatGPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects. Get started at ChatGPT.com by selecting work mode. Available on Plus and Pro Plans. You're the best field operative I've ever had. You were born for it. 81 the embassy went down we go 25 million in the wall where hotel tehran this is bad like run for the hills band do it now i don't have the money but i've got something more valuable you shall know the truth the truth they'll make it free the fix now playing in theaters want to know you're on the best path to the right car start at carmax where every car is carmax certified and backed by a 10-day money-back guarantee at a price that's up front from the start.
32:36Visit CarMax.com for details. Want to drive? CarMax. You know what quality feels like. You can see it in the way a fabric moves, recognize it in a flawless fit, and appreciate it in the details that make our styles unique. It's the standard Coldwater Creek has honored for over 40 years, derived from a rich Mountain West heritage, and designed for today in styles that are distinctively Coldwater Creek. For a wardrobe you can count on season after season, visit coldwatercreek.com, shop new arrivals, and save 15 % on purchases$75 or more with code IHART. Did growing up with seven older brothers, I mean, that must have been tough, right?
33:18Physically. Yes, yes. They taught me a lot. They told me what to expect. Training-wise, my job, and my father told us what we have to do. He said, nobody mess with your mother and your sisters. He said, if something happened, you got to make example out of them. Because I remember one time a guy had bothered my sister. So then it was just two of us that time, me and my brother, ran over there and took care of the guy. Then we was at home. Then we were saying, what we done? We thought we did something big. My father came in and didn't look at us. We're behind him, and he's looking out the window.
33:55He said, where's the guy at now? So me and my brother was saying, my father said, is he in the hospital? No, we didn't do our job. My father said the name must be respected. Nobody mess with the family. If they do, they got to know what's going to happen. So straighten up, you know. Right. That's a strong lesson. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And people learned. Yeah. You know. I guess so. I wouldn't want you coming around looking for me. Yeah. Well, a lot of people, sometimes they do stuff, did stuff, did, and don't know on certain things. Sure, sure. So, and that helped us. I mean, if you saw the DACA, you probably saw that some guys had robbed my mother.
34:44Yeah. You know.
34:52and it was strange and I think about what my sister called see I always tell people thugs always make a mistake one they robbed my mother two they didn't know this mother had eight sons then we called naturally it was actually one of us took all the guys wasn't from the neighborhood so they didn't know. Even the guy that was supposed to look out he didn't know. They just saw they so used to terrorizing the poor people and whatnot it's okay they are Mark or whatnot. So you know then when they found out you know they say hey man I said that was our mother. And it was so sickening what really made me so mad so angry.
35:39Here's the stupid thing they replied. if we had known that was your mother we wouldn't have done it so you see what that mean that mean every other black mother grandmother didn't have a chance didn't have a chance that really pissed us off you know and we showed no mercy there was no pity back then this dog you learn pity later you pitied the fool later Exactly, yeah. Pity me mercy. So there was no mercy there. You know, there was no I'm sorry. You can't say you're sorry. It's easy. You can't. You know, so we did the street justice. And I tell people, I say, I don't know. And as a Christian, then later, you know, I had to, like, sure, there was a saying I did.
36:30I sought revenge. And it felt good. You know, and I don't want nobody to get sidetracked to say whatever. whatever you know so wait you're supposed to be in a christian or this or that you know and don't don't test my christianity like that don't try me and say well i like i said i'm a i try to be a nice guy if you don't cross me you don't do nothing like that you will never know how tough i am you know you can call me a bad name call me a sissy a jerk or this or that whatever but if you mess with my mother my daughter my my sister you're fair game yes yes see there's no other reason i'm gonna go to jail.
37:08I'm not going to go to jail for breaking somebody's house. I never broke in nobody's house. I never snatched a purse. I never robbed nobody. When I was little, I stole some candy bars, and I apologized for that. That's about the end of whatever. I did that once when I was three. My mom made me go back and return it. That way with my brother. I said, man, you act like mother, man. I said, where do you get that? I said, man, that guy, he said, we got to go back in there. I said, no, man. I said, man, you act worse than the mother. I'm mad at you. Now I'm mad that my brother didn't talk to him for a couple of days because he's acting like my mother.
37:39Right, right. But there was a lesson for me. And lo and behold, that same brother who took me back to the store wound up being the Chicago police officer. Right. And he was training other police officers, you know. So, wow, you know. So that right there let people know that the ghetto couldn't contain us. Like I said, we was poor financially but rich spiritually. We had good teachings from our mother. We loved our mother. We knew right from wrong. We didn't get involved with the gang. One brother turned out to be a police officer. Another brother turned out to be a fireman. Another brother turned out to be a guard at Stateville Prison.
38:14One brother was a Marine. Two others so, mailman. We productive. We didn't hang with the wrong crowd. We didn't do the wrong things, you know. We tried to honor our mother, did the right thing until somebody touched our mother. Then all hell broke loose, you know. Oh, yeah. And we didn't run from them. We didn't hide what you want us to. That's the only reason we would go to jail. for that. Like I said, we didn't hang with the gangs. We didn't drink. We didn't do this here. We mind our own business, you know. And so, you know, and after that, you know, and like I said, nobody mess with the family.
38:48We won't have to rise again. As a matter of fact, that's a quote from Genghis Khan. He said, I am the punishment of God. If you hadn't done great sin, God would not have sent a punishment like me. Wow. That's powerful. So if they didn't do what they did, they would never, they would have just solved 18, gone about our business. But other than that, like I said, I'm a nice guy. You know, I like to think I'm a nice guy. But don't mess with the people you love. Yeah, and I think my life, and I tell you, my life sort of changed, and I would certainly change. A lot of people didn't know the story about my mother.
39:28But like I said, when we used to film The A-Team, when little kids wanted to meet me, and I would spend time with the kids. I would go to the hospitals and I was sincere about it. You know, like it's still like if I'm in New York, if I come to New York, going to be here for a while, I would make a point to go to the church and hospital because the kids would know that I'm in New York, but they couldn't come see me. So I would come see them. So that's what I would do. So I had a reputation going to visit the kids and stuff like that. So then it was a little boy. He wanted to meet me through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
39:59And that's when my life changed. of all the people this little kid could have saw. He wanted to meet me, a kid from the ghetto or this and that and whatever. Then the lady told me, said he wanted to meet me. I said, okay, well, bring him to the set like the other kids. She said, but Mr. T, he's dying. I said, wow. Then she said, maybe we could tell him you're busy. I said, then you be lying. I'm not busy. And I know every celebrity, they can't handle that, and I understand that. And so when she asked me, I said, Jess, I got to call my pastor in Chicago, Pastor Hardy. And I've been a member of his church since 1977.
40:39This man, I credit him with my life because it changed because he saw me become Mr. T. A lot of people join the band. Well, hey, I know Mr. T. You don't know nothing about me. Right. You don't know how I used to struggle. You don't know my mother would knock on the neighbor's door. I'm the captain of the football team in high school. mother knocked on the neighbor's door to borrow your quarter. We didn't have a quarter. And my mother, she had pride, but for the sake of her children. Sure. You know, tell somebody you've been not going to know, Miss Johnson, I hate to bother you, but could you loan me a quarter to get to one of my children to go to school?
41:19And I thought about that. I said, wow. So my mother thought about, here my mother scrubbing floors. And my mother knocked on the neighbor's door. And remember my mother going to the welfare station to get a bag of powdered milk, powdered eggs for us to have and whatnot. And I tell people, how can I say I love my mother, then go snatch another mother's purse? I'll be a liar and a phony. That's the worst thing, you know. And I would visualize my mother coming to see me. if I hang with the wrong kids and got put in jail, visualizing my mother coming to see me, looking at me through the bars, saying, son, why did you?
41:59I did the best I could with what I had. And right then, I would want to have committed suicide because then I would know I have dishonored my mother. I've disrespected her. My mother didn't screw up floors so I could be a thug, so I could wear my drawers down and all this other slang stuff. That's not me. She said, son, if you want something, work hard and save your money and get it. How hard is that? Work hard. Do the right thing. Don't hang with the wrong crowd. That's what I did. And being that, people used to call me a sissy. It's not always the easy path. No, it's not. That's where toughness comes in at.
42:40Yes, because a lot of kids nowadays, and that's what I want them to draw from my story, you know, is that going against the grain, because a lot of people, they go alone, they get alone. I remember I was talking to some kids, and kids said, Missy, I'm not really that bad, but I got to act like that. How sad. It takes courage to say, no, man, I ain't doing it, whatnot. And standing up to the guy, say, no, man, I ain't doing it. You know, boom. And you got to fight, you know. And so that's the hood. That's the street law, you know. And so the only the strong survive, you know. And so it's sad, but it's true.
43:18And a lot of your brothers went into service, as did you. Yes. So I didn't know that about you. Yes, and I'm glad you brought that up. And that's a part in the dark that sort of pissed me off. So talk about it now. Yes. You know, I had pointed out some things. I wrote down, I said, man, they didn't talk about the Make-A-Wish kids. I remember after that kid, his name was Ryan. He wanted to see me. So when I called home to my Pastor Hardy, the one I gave the money to after won the Tough Man contest, I said, Pastor Hardy, there's a kid that's dying. What do I say to him? I mean, I believe in God, but I feel God was moving me to another level now.
44:02So Pastor Hardy told me, he said, evidently, T, this kid, see the God qualities in you that you don't see in yourself. Like I said, I believe in God, but I'm moving to another level. So his name was Ryan. He's from Arizona. donor he had cystic fibrosis i had never heard of the disease but anyway he had trouble breathing and stuff like that so he came to the set and i loved on him play with him and let him play with my goal that's when i went all the gold 40 pounds and he was 40 pounds 40 pounds wow he would play with i put it on little buddy he said oh mr t i still remember he said so heavy then i would let him play with my mohawk and make him laugh i'm trying to entertain and make him smile then i I would say, Murdoch, come over here and meet my buddy.
44:44And I fake like I hit him and Murdoch fell. And he laughed. And I put him in the van, drive him around. And then it was just so special to see him laugh and see him being happy. But he only could be there about an hour because he had breathing problems. Then his mother came and asked me. She said, Mr. T, how can I thank you? I said, I am honored that he wanted to meet me. I said, no, I'm grateful, you know. and I would give him my home number. I said, when you get home, you call me, little buddy. He would call and whatnot. And then I remember about three weeks later, the paramedics who brought him out there came and told me, he said, Mr.
45:22T, we got some bad news. Little Ryan passed. Then tough Mr. T started crying. And I said, wow. And he said, but Mr. T, that's all he talked about, that he met you and you was his hero. And then I told him, I said, I told the front office, any time a kid want to see me, don't waste time calling me. Just bring them to the set. And then one day it was six different kids there, two in a wheelchair, different problems. And I would just love on them and stop. We would stop filming a little bit. Then I'd go do little stuff, make them smile. Then we'd go film. And, you know, and just it was a cleansing for me that I would pray.
46:01I would say, Lord, bless me so I could be a blessing to others. and I think through the kids they have turned their parents on back in the day because back in the day it was Rocky III then the A-Team and a lot of the parents wasn't really ready for Mr. T. You know what I mean? Who was ready for Mr. T? Wow, he's so mean. The kids would say, no mommy, no daddy. Mr. T loves kids and the parents say, I don't know. Then the parents would watch me on interviews and they would understand and say, wow, this man And it's deep. See me sitting there with all my gold on and beat up combat boots and Mitch Mack socks.
46:40And I got my rap. Remember, my rap is my game. And I'm telling them what things stands for. Why I do this here. Why the hair is cut. What the earrings mean and stuff like this here. What the gold mean. And they say, oh, wow. I see now and understand where I come from. And like I say, I was born and raised in the ghetto. But I was not born and raised for the ghetto. You know, like David said in 23rd Psalm, you either walk through the valley. You know, we was in the ghetto because we was poor, but our mind wasn't there. Our values wasn't there. You know, we was passing through there. We weren't going to stay there.
47:18That wasn't my final destination. I'm going through. I said, one of these days, I remember I would look downtown from the south side. I said, boy, one of these days I'm going to be down there. And what had happened, people would tell me, they say, what's your key to success? And as a Christian, I always say, number one, it's God. But number two, I tell people, don't tell everybody your dream. Because a lot of people are dream killers. See, my dreams was too big for people. It didn't fit me. And so they didn't want to go nowhere. Like even the Bible teachers say, unless two agree, they can't walk together.
47:54So number one, when I found certain guys I thought was my friends, I liked them because they had a TV in the house. We didn't have a TV. My little buddy, we in fourth grade, he got a TV in his bedroom? Wow. I didn't get a TV until I was a junior in high school. Man, I thought he was rich. I wanted to watch TV. So man, and I thought he was cool, but then I heard him talk back to his mother. I said, he can't be a friend of mine because I love my mother. So you don't love your mother. We can't be friends, you know. So that was some of the things that kept me together, you know. But again, to be so young and to make a decision like that, you know, most kids will just go watch TV.
48:38Yeah. Especially today. You know, but to actually take a stand for your mom, for what you believe in, so young just really speaks to how your parents raised you. I mean, and are all your siblings as devout as you are? No. No. No. Okay. My mother used to tell me, you know, I run into that too, like in the family. So all the things that happened to me, and that's why I tell people, I want my story to be an inspiration because I'm not the only one. People are going through that, but they handle it wrong, you know. So, you know, like my mother used to tell me, said, son, you're like David. And I didn't quite, even though, I mean, my job growing up, my brothers got older.
49:20Where my father wanted to go before we got on welfare, then he had to leave. Everywhere we go, I said, Dad, I want to go. And he asked my brothers, who want to go with me? My brother, I think a little older, said, I don't want to go. I said, me, Dad, me, me, me. So my father would go to his other minister's house, and they'd be just talking about God. And I'm sitting there like a sponge. I'm absorbing it. I wanted to know. I wanted to know. You know, I was my father's Bible bearer. That's why I can't my Bible now. You know, I would put it to the chapter and set it up on the pulpit for them to preach.
49:54And sometime my father be on fire. I said, wow, he'd be preaching about God. And I would almost visualize Jesus walking down Jericho Road and, you know, Jerusalem. I'm visualizing that, you know. So as my brothers got a little older, they sort of left God and didn't whatever, you know. But my mother used to tell me, she used to tell me there was a calling on me. So when she said I was David, then I grew up and understand what David was. David was a man after God's own heart. So then his brothers had a problem with him because David wasn't supposed to get the blessing. You know, the father thought it would be for his other brothers, but it wasn't.
50:33It was for David. Then she would tell me I'm like Joseph. Joseph, same thing. He had a lot of brothers, but the blessing wasn't on them. They threw Joseph in the pit, and he had to come back and save them. You know what I did? I was sued by my brothers and sisters. My mother said, son, don't hate him. I said, I won't, Mama. I said, because I understand God. This is my, this is a story. You felt it. This is a test of what I got to go through. I got to be attacked from out there and then, here and whatnot. It makes me who I am. So when I tell somebody about growing up in the ghetto, they got to know I've been there.
51:09I didn't take a short break. You know, I was sued by the guys I worked at the disco, and they hired me to save their butts. Sure. You know, I mean, I took guns from guys and this and that. So then after I make it, they say, oh, well, wow, we set T down. We should cut his hair that way. And I said, man, God, man, how you can lie. Then my mother explained to me. She said, son, success has many fathers' failures often. So that would help me. She said, when you start making it, everybody's going to take a claim. Hey, I made Mr. T. I made Mr. T. I said, number one, as a Christian, I thought God made me.
51:48So how could you make me? You know, so I remember when doing the lawsuit, the guy said, yeah, we made Mr. T. Yeah, he owed us for Rocky. He owed us for this. And the attorney asked him and said, did you get Mr. T. Rocky? No, but we had a lifetime contract. Let him talk. We just said, so what did you do for Mr. T.? We made him. He said, did you make him tough? No, we didn't make him tough, but he said, so how you made Mr. T? I used to own Mr. T, you know. So that's what it was. And my brothers and sisters, you know, I felt sorry for him, you know. And so it was a test. This is what David went through.
52:26This is what Joseph went through. So I had to love him, you know, had to love him. Like Jesus said, you know, Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. They didn't know what they did. They thought they were hurting me. And my mother said, shit, you don't know what you look like. One minute we all together, we fighting for a righteous cause. Now money come between us. What is it? You know, look at you, you know. So now I had to come back and save them like Joseph did, you know. I didn't say, oh, you better apologize, this and that. But I'm godly. They not, and I understand that, you know.
52:57So like I said, I got my strength from the Bible. I said, if I'm really with God, this is test. You know, Job was tested, you know. So this is part of the test. I got to pass. And I told Mother, I said, no, Mother, I want to hit him back. And I don't, you know. And I didn't. So they had to see. Like the guy who said, worked at the disco. I said, we made Miss D. That got straightened out. So now that's all right. I forgive you. I'm bigger than that. I'm not petty. I got to expect that. You know, I've achieved what nobody never thought. You know, he ain't supposed to first say, he can't act. When I said, people are dream killers.
53:33You can't tell people you dream. When I got to say, send me the script. I'm down here at the disco. I never forget, you know, I said, boy, I got to study this thing. Then people come in. I said, okay, 10 bucks, come on in, five each, come on. Then they go, have a seat. I said, okay, clubber, clubber. Okay, all right, yeah, yeah. Check your coat right there. Go over there, all right, boom. Then I go back to the script. I said, clubber, got to be tough. I said, wow, man, you know. Because at first the character Clubber Lane was supposed to have been from New York, of Jamaican accent, me being smart.
54:03So I bought some reggae records. I bought Harry Belifonte him on him on and then it was so ironic because different nights of the week we had different people come in and on Thursday night we had a reggae night and the brothers would come in smoking their stuff and I said hey man just talk that stuff to me I told them what the deal is I said man I got a movie just talk man and I can pick it up you know all this stuff so then the casting director she had called back to I mean Sylvester Lone to get him a report. He said, how is Mr. T coming with that? She said, well, he's doing pretty good. He's trying.
54:40He bought some reggae records and whatever. Then Sly, which told his car, he said, you know, tell Mr. T I don't want him from New York. I want him to be himself. I said, I got this now. I got this now. So that's why the character Clubber Lane, Southside Slugger, because I grew up on the Southside. So he said, I want you to be you. I said, oh man, I got this now. I can do that. I came in and did that part. First, I had to box him for a round, you know, because he wanted to see, you know, some hitting him, you know, going to the thing. It's kind of funny because, you know, all these things. It's like in the movie, come on, hit.
55:20Say, hit me, hit me. And I say, God, this guy don't know. I've knocked guys out, you know. So if I hit him too hard, I might not get the part. Right, you don't want to hurt him. You know, yeah. Then I said, wow, I got to hit him enough. So we did that. So we had one round. He said, that's pretty good. I agree. That was one part of the audition. So then we did 10 pages. He said, you want to look at it? I said, I already studied. So we did that. Then we said, we're going to do what we call improvisation. A lot of actors can do it, a lot of McCain. He said, pretend we're in the movie and I won't fight you.
55:53I said, okay. I said, I'm ready. I said, hey, bad boy, you're like all the other white fighters. You get the title. Don't want to fight no brother. I'm tired of waiting. Let's get it on right now. Then I grabbed him. He said, oh, beautiful, beautiful. Then he said, I want you to do one more thing. I want you to look into this camera. Tell me why you want this part. I said, okay. I said, okay, I'm ready. I said, this character club and lane. It's like hot coals burning inside of me. I've been club and lane all my life. He said, stop, stop, stop. He said, that's enough. He said, I want to thank you.
56:31I got to see some other people. I said, I understand. I said, I want you to know whether you hire me or not, I'm honored that you considered me. To be considered, that's something powerful. I never acted, you know. So you want me in the thing? Like I tell people, like I told the casting number, she said, when she asked me, do you know Sylvester Stallone? I said, yes, I watch Rocky 1 and Rocky 2. I know, and I was rooting for him. Man, I was going against the race, you know. I didn't get up, Paula. He's too mean. You know, so but no, it was special. That's where everything started. How much do you think of your understanding of storytelling and characters, how much of that came from your father and his, you know, when you're preaching, it's a performance.
57:19You're telling the story. Right? Yes. So how do you think that influenced you? You know, I didn't look at it out part, but I know how to, you know, how to captivate an audience, you know, with certain dynamics. That's why certain people move and I was seeing, like I said, I was separating him from being my father. And like I said, and I can picture when you tell the stories, take me back when I was in school, when my teacher used to have, you know, fairy time or whatever they call it. I shouldn't call it fairy time. Story time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And she would tell a story and I'm a little kid.
57:54to listen. I used to skate through stories, you know, because I wasn't going to where they were. I said, wow, wow, that was nice. So a good speaker, he would know how to do that. And that's what moved me, like why Muhammad Ali was my idol and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Reverend. You know, how they were speaking the words and the wow. And then like my pastor, Henry Hardy, he was a good orator. He was eloquent. Then he would tell me, he said, Brother T, what we got to do? We want to blow their mind because they just see you as a brute. They don't know you're intelligent. You know, because when I got to college, I was on the dean's list.
58:29And I said, I knew I wasn't no dummy, you know. So, wow, that was show them. I said, that one made me more of a threat because I'm tough, but I'm educated. They said, this man, God, that man is deep. I said, don't tell nobody. You know, keep it cool. I got a good thing going, you know. Yeah, you know. So I always would admire great speakers and how they put it together to tell a story to hold the people and say, wow. Then I guess I never thought about it at practice. It's just something like just came to me. It just started to, you know, I was just talking. People said, wow, you got a way with words as you think so.
59:04And I wouldn't think about it. I was just expressing feelings and stuff like that. You were flowing. Yeah, you know. But like I say, it's a blessing. I look at everything as a blessing. You know, and so I never wanted to think that put me above nobody. I said, I want to do, and I would always pray. I said, God, bless me so I could be a blessing of. Let me use this to glorify your kingdom. And that's what makes it works because I'm not, you know, hey, man, I just want to get rich. I want to do this here. I want to make money to feed other people. I feed people. And my mother told me, never, don't grandstand.
59:40You won't see me on TV. Hey, TMZ, look at me. Feed this poor family. Look at me doing this. I said, son, if nobody else knows, God knows. And I do it for the glory. Because that's why you're doing it. Yes, you know. And I do it. So like the long range, I go. I remember sometimes I would take food down to the people. I said, that guy look like Mr. T. Then sometimes with Joe, they would say, are you Mr. T? I said, no, Mr. T is much bigger, man. He got a phone and everything. They said, you're right. You're going to talk like I see how people tell me that all the time. I said, okay, man, stack this up.
1:00:09Then I go, you know, and I just go, you know. Now, I met one time in Los Angeles, my pastor, when I came out the film Rocky, when I got the part and he said, why are you out there? You know, find a place that you can minister to. Basically saying, don't get disconnected from God. So why are you out there? Stay with God. He would send me the tapes, keep me together. Then it was over there. I got connected to the Midnight Mission, a homeless shelter. And I would take food there, clothes there and stuff like that. and then later slowly the people started knowing that I was Mr. T. And then I remember the first time I really got emotional there.
1:00:47And I called my mother and I said, Mother, I got emotional this time and I started crying because the lady said, wow, Mr. T, we want to pray for you. And I started getting emotional. And I said, you really don't have to. I'm a gold, you know, like I know you love me. I just got to go. No, Mr. T, and she got the other homeless ladies and I'm in the circle. Then they start praying, and I just start crying. He said, we love you, Mr. T. Then I heard God in my car. I said, thank you, thank you. Then I drove home. I mean, I was driving home back to L.A. to Sherman Oaks, and I called my mother. I said, Mother, I got emotional, and I started crying.
1:01:23Then she said, son, it don't make you a wimp. You cared. And I do. I cry because I care. Like a lot of times after I would leave the hospital, I would go from baby to baby, and my mother would say, Mr. T., would you come in and pray for my baby? And I told my mother, my mother said, son, for a mother to ask you to pray for her son, she had to know that you got connection with God. You just don't ask anybody. I don't care if he won an Academy Award. If he ain't got no connection with God, you don't want him to pray for you. It's not real. So she had to believe and know that I believed in God and I love God.
1:01:57And that's what it was. I remember I would leave and mother say, could you pray for my baby? And the doctor said, look, I would go in there and I would pray in this sincerity and I would leave and I would get to my car and I would just break down and I would start crying. Are you ready to hold WWE history in the palm of your hand? Topps is bringing you closer to the action than ever before with WWE Topps Now, highlighting the biggest matches and milestones from WWE shows and PLEs throughout the year. Topps Now is enhancing the fan experience by connecting collectors to the superstars and spectacles that ignite their passion.
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1:05:42So one of the other things you said was left out, because I just want to go back to it, is your service in the Army? Yes. I said, man, here I went to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. You know, then I went to, I became a new piece. And how old were you when you did that? I was in the 20s. So after college? Yes, yes, yes, yes. And why? Because, back again, I'm bodyguard. See, I was padding my resume. See, because a lot of times, you know, they want to say, you ain't not qualified. I want to be, make sure I'm more than qualified. You know what I mean? Right. I want to look them in the eye when they say, I remember a lot of jobs I went to.
1:06:18And there was one, no, two, you know. I remember a lady said, she said, no doubt you'll probably get the job. You're more qualified than anybody else. I said, uh-huh. So then when I left, naturally it don't get nowhere. I glanced around and saw her putting my thing in the garbage. I said, that's okay. That's a test of who I am. I didn't think about the whole thing. Like I said, the thing that kept me together, one of the things beside God, see, I used to read books about people who made it in spite of. Yes. I used to read white, black, whoever. Yeah. I want to read it. I want to know how hard they worked and this and that, how many no's they got.
1:06:53So you tell me no, you ain't get out of there, boom. You know, I mean, my teacher would tell us, he said, you got to keep trying, persevering, this and that. He said, if you go apply for a job, say no hiring, come back the next day. Don't give up. Then he coming. Then the guy might say, wasn't you here the other day? He said, yeah, I was here, but I figure maybe somebody got fired or somebody's going to die. You know, anything can happen. Then he might say, okay, well, why are you here? I'll tell you what. go get me a cup of coffee. Then it started from there. I like to read stories about how people made it in spite of and how people started at the coat check or the parking lot.
1:07:27That's what this whole podcast is supposed to be. And you are now that person. Yes. Well, you start from nothing. And like I said, see me because we were brought up rough, we never say oh, this is too hard for us. Give me your hardest. Like Maya Angelou said, still I rise. Whatever you throw at me. I'm going to make you look stupid because you applied all your stuff and still couldn't beat me. I mean, when I used to be in high school, guys would rig the scale because you're supposed to be exactly 165 pounds in high school. For wrestling? Yeah, in high school wrestling, yes. And they would rig the scale, the cheating, whatever.
1:08:04I said, I don't care. And I told my coach, I said, he said, that guy's overweight. He's 170. He can make it for 50. I said, no, I'm going to beat him anyway. It don't matter. I went, do all your little dirty stuff. I'm still going to beat you. You know what I mean? Yeah. You know, so I remember about the struggle coming from the South and all the stuff we had to persevere through. So we not quit. So, you know, all you stuff, I'm still going to win in the end. Throw all your dirt at me. Stop me this year. Don't try to stop her from going to school. Still, we're going to win. Still, we're going to get in.
1:08:35Don't don't use excuses. So it ain't let me in because this or they didn't like me. Oh, it's a racist. start with the excuses man you know so i want you to shoot your best shot i'm still gonna supply i'm still gonna make it and like i said how i prepared myself to be mr t how i changed my name to mr t out of respect for my father i respect to my brother that was a marine came back from vietnam white guys calling him boy he ain't no boy you know my father ain't no boy this man and taught me to say, do the right thing. He didn't say, okay, boys, y 'all go out to the suburb, beat up somebody and take money.
1:09:12No, my grades wasn't good. My father whooping our behinds, disciplining us. You know, teachers would say, yes, sir, no, ma 'am. You owe the dole for a lady. Respect. You know, we learn all that, you know. So this is what it's about, you know. And so that's the way I was brought up. We wasn't brought up quitting. Wasn't brought up to complain. Oh, life is hard. They don't like me because I'm black or this and that. enough with excuses you know so i know when i succeed i want to look back and say yeah they tried to stop me but they didn't i said that's all you got you got anything else you know and like i said with the fact me being in rocky they said okay he got lucky and i explained to people be careful when you hear that word lucky when the person who tell you that see they use their word lucky because luck excuses hard work see if there's some guy oh man mr t got lucky they won't say, yeah, when we was getting high, Mr.
1:10:07T was going to the library. When little Mr. T, he was studying. He was listening to his mother. He was studying hard in school. So, we were stealing. That's why we got police record, but little T didn't. So, they won't say that part. But if they say, hey, little T was studying and we was getting high, that makes them look at their own life and say, why didn't you be coming to something? But are they capable of looking at themselves that way? And that's what it is. somebody easily condemned. Like I tell people, and I would tell kids, and I say, don't get mad if somebody hates you or whatever. I said, haters do what they supposed to do.
1:10:43And I break it down for making sense for them. I said, haters, if haters don't hate, they can't be a hater. Runners run. Walkers walk. Writers write. Actors act. Players play. You see? So if you're a hater, you're supposed to hate. Let them hate. It ain't gonna stop me. What else you got? That's all you got? That's all you got? I'm going to sue you. I'm going to tell somebody about it. I remember the guy said, I'm going to tell the secret on you. Put it out there. Let's get it done. Yeah. Nah. Yeah, we know about you, Mr. D. What else you got? That didn't stop me. You got anything else? Hey, man, yeah, I want to get with you.
1:11:21I said, no, no, you should have thought about that a long time ago. You know, I want you to put everything out there you think that can stop me. Right, right. You know. Because nothing's going to stop you. I said, number one, I'm with God. I'm doing the right thing. You know. And that's what I am. That's my message, that I want some young kid or somebody. Don't have to be young to grab from that. Somebody going through stuff they want to quit. You know, it's like we was last week, we was in Toronto. So I do work with this fan expo, you know, where people line up, see you, pay a picture, whatnot, and the people come and they're telling different stories.
1:11:54And they tell me, you know, it first took me a while, many years ago, to adjust. Say, Mr. Tia, I love you and Rocky, I love you. And they tell us a story. And then I said, y 'all just saying that. I couldn't because, see, Stephanie, because many years ago, yeah, I'm growing up a black kid. First, everybody said, look at that wild looking with the haircut. Now it's sweet. Just a minute later, Rocky. Oh, man, that's Mr. T. He's Rocky III. Now we love him. What have I done different? Right. You're still the same person. I would love my mother with the wild haircut. Love her now. So what's this stuff?
1:12:24Now you want to try to make a big thing of me, you know? I said, no, I'm careful with that, you know? so I watch all of that you know and so you wrestle with that to stay grounded to stay even keel not to get go so caught up you know and that's how you started this interview is talking about humility yes right you can't let fame and fortune distort who you are what your purpose is and you're very clear in what your purpose is. Was there ever a time where you questioned it or where you strayed from God and got brought back or anything like that? Well, um... That you're comfortable talking about?
1:13:12No, no, no. And I'm glad you brought it up. I'm not afraid of nothing. I'm not, uh... Now, I wasn't as strong in my faith a long time ago. I was growing. I was getting to that point. Stronger now, sure, I don't want nobody to think that I'm holier than thou, that I haven't sinned. Sure, I've sinned, I've did wrong, but I ask God for forgiveness. So I understand my responsibilities now. So that's why I'm careful what I do, careful what I say. I'm not without sin, no way about it. That's why I keep God near me. because I know if I wasn't close to God, I would have gone off a long time ago. So I know.
1:13:57I said, so I got to, my life, I have a foundation, something I can go back to. A lot of people never had that foundation. So they get lost out there. Sure. So when something goes wrong, I can go back and say, wow, I can call my pastor. We can talk about God. I can read in the Bible and I can say, no, I need time to think. And I already know whenever somebody's trying to put the rush on me, oh, man, you know how to think, you know what I'm doing. So no, I want to think. I better stop. Let me slow it down. Too much is happening. Let me slow it down, you know. So being a, and I think about helping the kids, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, stuff like that, kids with cancer and stuff like that.
1:14:41But now we speed up from 1983, 84, 85, 86. Now we speed up to 1995. Now I'm diagnosed with cancer. T-cell lymphoma. I said, wow. And immediately right then, I knew it was a test of my faith. I said, how can I tell somebody about God and I'm shaking in their boots? Sure, don't get me wrong. Because nobody in my family never had cancer. I didn't know what cancer was. Cancer. I said, wow, man. But then of all things, T-cell. Now I got to find out what T-cell is, you know. So, man, that's B-cell and whatever. I said, oh, man. You know, I mean, first, because the only thing I knew about cancer was, you know, I see people all of a sudden because they take chemo, then they're getting weak and smaller, then they die, and that's what I knew.
1:15:35Then I said, wow, so now I got to study up on cancer, find more and whatever, you know. So I went through that. At first, it was like I said, went through the radiation first. It was a little bump on my ear, you know. Then it came back. Then that's when the doctor said, it was about six months later, he said, I think it's time to go to chemo. That's when it really hit me, even though it was going radiation first. And I said, yeah, okay, cancer. I was still learning, still learning about cancer. But then when he said chemotherapy, it hit home. I said, this is cancer. Seems like everybody's heard of chemo, right?
1:16:06Yeah, you know what chemotherapy do, you know. You know, people, their hair fall out, you know, you're throwing up and all that stuff or whatnot. I said, wow. I said, now this is it, you know. But I never lost faith. I got closer to God. I went to the book of Job. I said, this is my Job test because Job was confronted with a whole lot of stuff, you know. So it was tests, you know, and they said, wow, where's God? I said, wow, well, believe in God. Why don't you call on God? I said, well, they said to Job, you believe in God, Mr. T. God's going to heal you. You know, they were trying to be jokingly or whatever.
1:16:46So, okay, I didn't say nothing. It's my test to keep my faith. So, and long story short with that, so I think about when I was telling the little kids about God, that God love them when they're in the wheelchair and they won't be able to play baseball like a normal kid and other stuff like that. I think about little Ryan who had cystic fibrosis, you know, and me telling them God love him and don't give up and all that. So now I'm diagnosed with cancer. If I couldn't call on that same God I told them to believe in, if I couldn't call on that same God that I preached in pulpits about, yes, believe it or not, I have preached.
1:17:23I've delivered sermons. Blew people minds. Said, Mr. T, I got to see this. And they did. I bet it's amazing. Oh, yeah. And it worked perfectly because people said, Mr. T, man, I'm going to. Wow, man. You say what my mother used to say. I didn't believe you would preach. Man, thank you, man. I needed to hear that because a lot of people left guard. Like my pastor Hardy told me. He said, but Dale, he said, you will reach more people than I can. That's why I get the word from the pastors and bring it out to people where I meet. I never wanted to be an actor. Never dreamed. I told my mother, I'm going to do this here.
1:18:01So now, excuse me, Hollywood. You said a football player and what else? Yeah, I said I'd be a football player and a boxer. And a boxer. I said, but it was okay. I said, all right, so I did not be a football player and a boxer. But I still, the goal was to buy my mother a house and dress it. That's right. So I made a little box, you know me. And my mother told me, you know, she didn't say invest in this firm and that firm and whatnot. She said, put some aside for a rainy day, which I did, all that stuff. and I would tell people, I said, now I don't want to sound cocky or conceited and I would tell them, I said, if Hollywood say, hey, Mr.
1:18:35T, we tired of you, you know, we had enough, I'm going to say, thank you, Hollywood. You know, because if my life was a game show, we would be in the super duper bonus round. If my life was a baseball game, we would be in the 500 ending. You see what I mean? So basically I'm saying my life has exceeded itself. You see? because I wasn't supposed to be here. They said, I got lucky and I'll be one and done. They said, fortunately, I said, well, he'll never get Rocky. He can't act. And I tell them using my smart again. I said, let me tell you something, brothers. I know I can't act. You know I can't act.
1:19:15Don't tell everybody. I got a good thing going, you know. So, you know, they said I was probably one and done. After Rocky there to be, he'll be back home. Not. How you like me now, fool? You know, but I got to remember myself. I say holy, stay holy, let it go. I don't have to say, hey, you see me now? They see me. Believe me, they see me. Oh, they see you. They see me good, you know. Don't have to say nothing. You were everywhere. Yes. Yes. You know, so after Rocky, now remember Rocky told me, he said, you never worked as hard for nothing else. Everything else be down here for you. Be easy for you because you proved yourself and Rocky, which you did.
1:19:54So the president of NBC had saw some dailies of Rocky before he came out. Then he had called Stephen Canale because he was a prolific producer who did a lot of TV shows. And the president of NBC, Brandon Tartoff, told Stephen Canale, he said, look here. He said, this new Rocky coming out is this big black guy with the moho. This guy going to be hot. I want you to create a show with him driving a car, a van, a truck or something. but you know get it going and the rest is history i was the only guy on the show didn't audition it was after they got me built around me yeah you know so that's but i back to my humility i take it back to god i say it started when i freely gave the money now continually free to give and whatnot i don't give i'm not trying to buy a ransom or nothing like that like my mother I said, some things the money can't buy.
1:20:50Money can't buy my way out of hell. They can't buy me into heaven. You know, so like I said, but I'm fulfilling a vow. Because Lord, every chance I get, I'm going to give you the glory. They say, man, you're great, Mrs. I said, no, no, I know a man that's great. I'm not great. You know, I say, I haven't fed 5 ,000. I haven't made the dead come alive. You know, I'm just a humble servant. I'm a mama's boy. And I tell the kids at school, I say, I'm nothing but a big, overgrown, tough, butt-kicking mama's boy. I love my mother. And I want the kids to know that there is nothing sissified to love your mother.
1:21:28Because if more kids was to love their mothers, there'd be less men in jail. And I think also it speaks to how much your mother loved you. Because it's hard to love someone who doesn't love you. And how would you know what love feels like? You know, and not every home has that. That is true. You seem to have had one of the most amazing mothers of all time. Yes, and never I'd say it, Stephanie. When I said, my mother, she loved me. I didn't have a decent coat to wear in the wintertime in cold Chicago, but her love kept me warm. Had holes in my shoes. Her love kept me warm. Christmas, we didn't have toys.
1:22:14But her love kept me warm. I know if she had the money, we would have had toys. But I wasn't deprived and say, I ain't got no toys, so I'm going to go psychic. You don't know. So we just played. We threw snowball. We had fun and whatever. And so I said, one of these days. It is. So one of these days, okay. And look how God has blessed me. I look at things. So I didn't have toys coming up. Now we got Mr. T. Dawes. Can you believe that? Right. Wow. Wow. That's pretty incredible. They invite me to the toy R.U.S. to introduce my toys. Missing T. Dolls. You grew up with no toys. No toys. And here you are, a toy yourself.
1:22:54Got two sets of dolls. Six-inch doll and a 12-inch doll. You pull a string, shut up, fool. Wow. You know, you go to school. Wow. Then we just selling it, this and that. Then what's great about the things I would do, I would take the dolls to the kids in the ghetto. Yeah. Give it to kids. They didn't have toys. And I would just thank God. And you're showing them too because, hey, I'm one of you. Yes. And this is possible. Right. You know my story. I grew up in the projects. Don't want them to forget, you know, that there's the same kid that they say wouldn't be nothing. That the same kid that say, okay, wind up in jail, this and that.
1:23:35What the hell for you? Right. I did wind up in jail. I would visit jails. You see what I mean? At our church, we have a prison ministry where we go to prison and talk to the inmates about God. Because one day some of them will be getting out. So we hope that they pay their dues and they better off than they came. You see, that's what it's about, you know. So powerful to hear to, I mean, anyone listening, just a reminder in this day and age of like, I have two little kids how much your mother's love meant to you over things right like it's all about toys and the next the biggest squishy or the ipad or whatever it is it's it's a just a beautiful reminder that her love was all you guys needed yes it's the love of my mother was stronger than the urge in the street so no guy can say man come on do this yes no no my mother wouldn't want me to do that.
1:24:32And I remember I came to Hollywood. Hey, man, it's good to party. I'm glad that I was the square, you see what I mean? Because I didn't get invited to some party, you know what I mean? You know what I mean? Now I'm a square. You don't want Mr. T there, you know. I don't do that, you know. I ain't cool, you know, yeah. So I'm glad I wasn't cool, you know. I'm glad they didn't send no invites to me, you know. So yeah, it's good to be a square, you know. It's it to be square. Yes, yes. Yes. Yes. That's Huey Lewis. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
1:25:08We're talking about beautiful. I know. I know. I know. Boy. And I did want to ask you, you know, because. No, please ask me anything. Nothing's off limits. I don't want you to be shy because somebody out there need to hear something. Something. See, see, when I talk, I know everything not for everybody, but somebody going to hear something and click and I want to try to bring it to them. I might say something about God. It's not for everybody. and something like that's what my mother used to tell me this and that Mr. T I didn't know he was really like you say you didn't know I was in the army you know they say wow he really sincerely love his mother it's not an act they need to know that so I would ask me anything if I know the answer I'll tell you if I say if you ask me something about science like Mr.
1:25:48T how many miles is the earth is from the moon I said I don't know you know and I'm being honest you know so I'm sorry no no so i'm curious because everything you do is very intentional yes especially in your appearance yes so you're obviously dressed very patriotically yes and let me tell you why okay see we that's what i'm asking well because you know i'm wearing the comeback boots yes the comeback boots represent the soldiers because i was a comeback i was you know like i said for jackson south carolina then for the soldiers who after 9 11 you know had to go to war and this shirt that I have on, it's a t-shirt from the Orange County Fire Department.
1:26:30You know, they humbly asked me to come speak to some of the firemen. And I speak, and then in Sherman Oaks, where I keep a place in Los Angeles, you know, it's a fire station, Fire Station 88. And the fire captain there, Captain Didi, asked me would I come by. That was 10 years ago. That was before the big fire last year, you know, in Los Angeles. You know, and I would talk to the inmates and I'm not the inmate. I would talk to the fireman and explain that my brother is a fireman. And I would explain to people afterwards, I said, think about what the firemen do. They get a call for a car accident.
1:27:06Next thing, got to put out fires. They can't forget what they saw. You can't unsee that. So if I can come and they request me, they didn't request me because I'm a celebrity because there's bigger celebrities that done those stuff. My God, My God call that I can talk to them about God and they going through so much stuff. They trying to forget that they saw this little baby mangled or they saw a person wrapped in the car. What do you say? You know, sometimes I just sit there with them. You know, sometimes I don't say nothing. It's a silence thing. You know, let them, if they want to bring it out, say something, you know.
1:27:41But like I said, but through the relationship, you don't try to pack it. I'm going to say this to the day and whatnot. Just let them be friends. Hey, man, see you going to come by? Then I say, hey, Miss Steve, would you come by? We're going to put on Rocky tonight. Okay, as they call. So we sit there. Then one time we were watching Rocky, and I'm jumping up. Get him, get him. And they like that. We're like, what do you say? I say, that scene right there that I'm telling them. And they love that, you know. Yeah. And they love that. And I know what they need, a little therapy, you know. And they like them.
1:28:12Sometimes we have the A-team stuff to sit around. I say, that scene right there, before that scene, let me tell you what I did. and they like all that whatnot. Yeah. You know, so I'm honored that they requested me. Sometimes you're just helping them forget. Yes. Yes. Yeah. You know, then they come out and say, man, would you work out? I said, I can only do so much that I'm working out with a little bit. I said, man, I'm tired. Hey, man, but you was better than in Rocky. I said, I was younger then. Make him laugh. So I'm just glad to be a part. What kind of way? Then they asked me, would I come, you know, just a little motivation, you know, and they liked it.
1:28:44I said, man, you liked it? You sure, man? They said, yeah, man, we know you're a Kristen. And then I said, okay, man, as long as you getting something out of it, you know. So that's what it means to me, you know, that I'm not just a, you know, you know. It has some value, you know. So that's the reason for this. And then plus, like I said, you know, I'm coming to New York, you know, my way of, you know, honoring them for next week, the people who died and stuff like that. Let them know I haven't forgot, you know. And that was the thing with the bandana many years ago when I started, you know, wearing that.
1:29:17Like I said, mainly because I'm a soldier myself, you know, and I love America, you know. And so I'm not a draft dodger. I did my time and, you know, God bless America. But when I say God bless America, as a Christian, I say God bless other countries too because you're not supposed to be, you know, picky. Yeah, you're not going to say God bless America and let other countries burn. No, God bless America and other countries. And you abandon this and that. God bless everybody. Yeah, like I said, Lord bless my mother that's sick. Lord bless the other mothers. Bless the homeless mothers that's out there on the street.
1:29:54Bless the mothers that don't have money to go to the hospital or get treatment. Lord have mercy on us. And that's me. Well, I can't think of a better way to end this interview because I don't want it to end, by the way. No, no, me and we on the team. And I keep looking at you. I remember how you was small. I remember when I first met you. Wow. And you came over before WrestleMania. Yes, that's right. And I got a big I love Mr. T button. You know those big buttons in the 80s. Yes, yes, yes. And it was like I love New York, but it was I love Mr. T. And my mom had to make you liver. Yes, yes. And my mom did not like liver.
1:30:31Yes, and I love liver. But my dad said, well, Mr. T loves liver, so you have to make Mr. T, you have to make him liver tonight. and oh my god it was so funny she was gagging in the kitchen i'm sorry i never knew that it was great but then what's amazing too is when you were inducted into the wwe hall of fame my girls i have three girls okay and they were about the same age i was when i met you wow and then they got to meet you and they got to get your autograph and it was a full circle moment for me and then to have this opportunity to actually really get to know you. No, this is special. It's been an honor.
1:31:12No, I was looking forward to this when they told me, I said, the real her, not know somebody else's name that, you know. I said, because I know her. I said, if it really is Mac May, I know her. I said, okay, I'm excited about it, you know. And you have just, I know you will inspire and you have inspired, but I know this interview will touch people, whoever it is whatever they needed to hear to your point but you you did me as well i mean i hear you loud and clear and i think i i needed this thank you so thank you and i want you to know i still watch wrestling good good well thank y 'all thank you no thank you for the opportunity you know thank you thank you for being you thank you and for for being so loving because that's what you do and real yeah and i think you you do you give that back to everybody everybody you can thank you and i can just only say wow then just thank god that allowed me to to be here this long and affect people's lives.
1:32:26I have one other thing that I've noticed. Yes. Why do you cover your mouth when you smile? Because actually that's the shyness of me. That's the baby of me. Yeah, it's very endearing, I have to say. And the little kids, they like that. They like that. They like that. They say, yeah, because it's the shyness of me. I don't be normal. I do it, but it's second nature when I do it. Because that's the tender side of me. Yeah. Yes. I'm so grateful I got to know the tender side and just really to have this time with you. Thank you. No, thank you. Thank you all. Yay. Thank you.
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1:33:40You're the best field operative I've ever had. you were born for it in 81 the embassy went down we go 25 million in the wall where hotel tehran this is bad like run for the hills band do it now i don't have the money but i've got something more valuable you shall know the truth the truth they don't make it free the fix now playing in theaters some people use chat gpt to answer questions. Others use it to get real work done. With ChatGPT work, you bring the goal, plus real inputs like briefs, notes, files, feedback, data, and project plans. It can help turn them into an analysis, tracker, deck outline, prototype, or workflow you can review and keep shaping.
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From the publisher
To celebrate the release of his new Netflix documentary, "Untold Mr. T: I Pity The Fool,” the WWE Hall of Famer sits down with Steph McMahon to talk about life lessons, acting and WWE. A WWE and Fanatics Original Production.
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