MOVIE TALK
Mr. T Is Not a Fan of the New 'A-Team'
by Lindsay Robertson · June 7, 2010
The most famous star of the original "The A-Team" TV series is speaking out against the new movie remake. Mr. T, who played B.A. Baracus on the original series, says he was offered a cameo in the new film. However, he turned it down because he says he "knew what was coming" -- a level of violence and sex unacceptable to the actor and, he says, untrue to the original vision of the show.
Mr. T, whose real name is Laurence Tureaud, was in attendance at the movie's Los Angeles premiere, where he admitted his fears were confirmed. "It was too graphic for me," he said. "People die in the film and there's plenty of sex, but when we did it no one got hurt and it was all played for fun and family entertainment. These seem to be elements nobody is interested in any more."
The original "A-Team" was about a group of Vietnam vets who escaped jail after being imprisoned for a crime they didn't commit. They then joined together to fight for justice. While there was violence on the show, it was famously of the cartoonish variety, and rarely was anyone seriously hurt. The new "A Team," in theaters June 11, is made up of Iraq war veterans just returned from the battlefield, and includes a sexy new character played by Jessica Biel.
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Mr. T isn't the only former "A-Team" star who has some complaints about the new film. Dirk Benedict, who played "Faceman" in the original series (played in the remake by Bradley Cooper) is less concerned about sex and violence and more offended by his lack of screen time in his cameo: "I'm on for a mere three seconds and I find that kind of insulting."
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The new B.A. Baracus, played by Ultimate Fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, would probably disagree with Mr. T's opinion. Last week, he questioned the movie's impact on his own tough image, saying that the entire profession of acting "makes you soft."
The new movie's biggest star, Bradley Cooper, has only joking complaints about the film so far, namely that his shirtless scenes make him look "like a chimpanzee."
