UNTOLD MR. T: I PITY THE FOOL director Scott Weintrob opened up about what it was like spending time with the ’80s icon.
“Mr. T was my childhood hero,” he told TV Insider. “So, you know, they say never work with your heroes or never meet your heroes. It’s interesting because the more you learn about someone, the more human they become. They’re not your hero anymore. You see them as the regular person with the same ambitions and dreams as anybody else. I feel like that was really the case with this film.”
Weintrob said his goal was to allow Mr. T to “tell his story honestly and openly, and that’s what I did,” adding, “He certainly opened up because he told us things that he certainly didn’t need to at this point in his life.”
“He came from incredible challenges,” the director explained. “He grew up in a time where the opportunity to succeed in the way he did just really wasn’t present. So he’s an anomaly. He really is a superhero. The thing that I always wanted to find out was why, what drove him. How did he do it?”
Related: ‘I’m a Child of God’: Why Mr. T Shares the Gospel With Others
Mr. T, real name Laurence Tureaud, has been open about his past as well as his strong faith, telling The Guardian recently, “We was poor financially, but we was rich spiritually.”
Even after becoming a successful actor, Mr. T continued to give back to the community and local churches.
“My pastor, Reverend Henry Hardy, said: ‘When you are in Los Angeles filming ROCKY III find a place that you can minister to,’” he recalled. “So when I was out there I got connected to this homeless centre called the Midnight Mission.”
He continued, “I brought them food and clothes. They didn’t know who I was. Because we were filming ROCKY III, I brought a lot of Nike stuff. I left it at the door. Eventually at the Midnight Mission they found out who I was and they asked if I’d come in and pray and deliver a sermon, so I started preaching there.”
Speaking to PauseRewind, Mr. T called himself a “servant of God,” explaining that his faith helps him through difficult situations with others.
“I ain’t got time to hate,” the actor said. “God has blessed me too much to be hating somebody. It’s sour grapes. How can I proclaim to be a man of God and hating somebody?”
UNTOLD MR. T: I PITY THE FOOL tells the incredible true story of how the actor became a star, and continued to hold on to his values, despite his fame. It’s available on Netflix.
Read Next: Following Jesus Means This, Mr. T Explains
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