In 1982, Mr. T was spotted by Sylvester Stallone. He was on the TV show "Games People Play" taking part in "The World's Toughest Bouncer" contest - tossing two stuntmen about quite casually! His role in "Rocky III" was originally intended as just a few lines, but Stallone built up the part around the man.

Mr.T also appeared in another boxing film, "Penitentiary 2" and in a cable TV special, "Bizarre" before accepting the role of "B.A Barracus" in the hugely popular 1980's television action show "The A-Team".

Mr.T entered the world of pro wrestling in 1985-86 and 1994-95. He was Hulk Hogan's tag team partner at the first Wrestlemania, defeating the team of Paul Orndorff and Roddy Piper on March 31, 1985. His feud with Piper continued into Wrestlemania 2 in 1986, defeating Piper in a boxing match by DQ.

Mr. T returned to the WWF as a special guest referee in 1987, before disappearing from the wrestling world. He reappeared as a special referee for a Hogan-Ric Flair match, 7 years later in October 1994. He stayed with Hogan for a few matches.