God is on my side, and that's all I need. I get up in the morning, I pray to God. I don't pray to the president, the governor, the mayor, no black caucus, no this and that. I pray to God, and that's the end of it.
Mr. T
To have a comeback, you have to have a setback.
You pity the fool because you don't want to beat up a fool! You know, pity is between sorry and mercy. See, if you pity him, you know, you won't have to beat him up. So that's why I say fools, you gotta give another chance because they don't know no better. That's why I pity them!
NBC had a show called 'The Toughest Bouncer in America' that I did. But I told them I didn't like that term, 'bouncer.' To me, it's offensive. A bouncer likes to get physical, likes to put his hands on people.
It takes a smart man to play dumb.
I get up every morning and say, 'Father, give me strength today, not strength so I can lift 500 pounds, but give me strength, Lord, so when I speak, my words might motivate, might inspire somebody, Lord, when they see me, let them see you. When they hear me, Lord, let them hear you. In your holy name I pray.'
Really, you don't lose until you stop trying.
When I'm ready to fight, my opponent has a better chance of surviving a forest fire wearing gasoline drawers.
My momma didn't clean up floors so I could be a thug... so I could wear my pants down.
When I was growing up, my family was so poor we couldn't afford to pay attention.
You might not have the things you want, but if you check carefully, you got all you need.
I believe in the Golden Rule - The Man with the Gold... Rules.
As a Christian, you forgive, and you feed the hungry and clothe the naked, and you visit the sick and comfort the lonely. If I'm a true follower of my lord and saviour Jesus Christ, I got to do the things you're supposed to be doing.
I pity the fool who just gives up.
I was mischievous. I wasn't bad. I stole food so we could eat. My mother didn't know. I used to tell her some man gave me $10 to sweep out the yard. I was like Robin Hood. I took from the rich and gave to the poor. Me.
I have the Midas touch, in the way that when I hook up with a project, I feel, not speaking cocky or conceited, but there's a confidence I have. I learned that from Muhammad Ali; I used to bodyguard him. He taught me about confidence. So when it comes to any job I work, I'm gonna do it good; I'm going to bring it over the top.
I try to use my experience and the fact that I grew up in the ghetto - I tell people you don't have to rob or steal to get out of the ghetto.
I used to bodyguard for Muhammad Ali, Leon Spinks, Sugar Ray Leonard. I used to bodyguard a lot of diamond merchants; I would travel with a suitcase full of diamonds and take them from point A to point B. My reputation grew because I was a professional. I did my job, and I was courteous - a no-nonsense guy.
I'm tough when I have to be, tender when I should be. When you find a really tough guy, he's not a predator. He doesn't have to prove himself. Guys who have to pretend to be tough, they ain't. I'm tough.
I do watch some TV. I like the History Channel and National Geographic, and old shows on TV Land like 'Sanford and Son,' 'The Jeffersons,' and 'Benson.'
T stands for being nice. T stands for manners. T stands for being polite.
My mother is a strong, wonderful woman. I could never be anything she didn't want me to be.
When I was nine years old, living on the south side of Chicago, my father was a minister and my mother used to scrub floors. I had seven brothers and four sisters. I told my mama, 'One of these days I'm going to be big and strong and buy you a beautiful house.' That's all I've ever wanted to do with my life, is to take care of my mother.
I have a heart of gold, but I'm really a marshmallow in my heart.
You'll never have any trouble with Mr. T, I'm just a big, calm teddy bear kind of guy. Mr. T ain't ashamed to cry. When I go out and I meet people who are suffering and they come and talk to me, Mr. T cries, Mr. T who could break a man's jaw with his fist.
The most violent show on TV is the six o'clock news.
I want to represent... to the kids to draw strength from me. So they can see that everybody goes through something, but you can rise up and do your best. Just try.
The reason why I wear gold - I wear gold for three reasons. One, when Jesus was born, three wise men came from the east: one brought frankincense, one brought myrrh, the other one brought gold. The second reason I wear gold is I can afford it. The third reason I wear it, it's symbolic of my African heritage.
One time, this guy was bothering my mother, and me and my brothers had a stern talking with the guy and a little bit of physicality with him. So he disappeared. But I'm not a magician.
Gold was a gift to Jesus. If it's good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me!
You cross me, I'm going to hurt you. But I'm really very gentle.
I don't mean to be cocky, but if I'm never on TV again, if I never make another dollar, I am proud. I did what I wanted to do.
When my ancestors came from Africa, they were shackled by our neck, our wrists, and our ankles in steel chains. I've turned those steel chains into gold to symbolize the fact that I'm still a slave, only my price tag is higher.
I know about two things: 'Rocky III' and Clubber Lang, and 'A-Team' and B.A. Baracus. That's who I am!
All I ever wanted out of my life was to buy my mother a house. By 1995, I have achieved all I wanted materially in life.
To the women and children, T stands for tender. To the bad guys and thugs, it stands for tough.
I try to work out my mind more these days. I try to eat right. I don't drink, I don't smoke, and I take the skin off chicken. But I'm not on no special diet. I like my steak and potatoes, ice cream, doughnuts.
If you can't read, the only thing you can do is enjoy the pictures, not the whole story. Reading is the key to knowledge. Knowledge is the key to understanding. So read on, young man! Read on, young lady!
I thank God I'm in a position where I can pick and choose - there are some roles I don't play.
I tell everybody, I get so much because I give so much. I give freely, I give all my time, give all my money, give all of my soul. I try to motivate people. I try to inspire them.
You know, T can stand for anything. T stand for working hard. T stand for loving thy neighbor. T stand for feeding the hungry. T stand for just working, working, working, being happy on the set, you know, lifting everybody's spirits. T stands for just a nice guy.
Basically, I wear sandals, like Jesus. When it gets cold in Chicago, the snow way up to my knees, I still wear my sandals. But that's me.
Left ear, I wear four earrings. The four is symbolic of the four seasons, spring, winter, summer and fall, the four directions, north, east, south and west, the four gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
If you get knocked down - setbacks in life, like applying for a job if they don't hire you - keep trying, keep getting up, keep doing it.
When I was old enough to change my name, I changed it to Mr. T so that the first word out of someone's mouth was 'Mister,' a sign of respect.
My mother never cursed at home; my father never cursed at home. My father didn't drink. Even though we were poor, we would say a blessing over the table. So that's who I am.
I always say I'm one of the toughest mama's boys you're ever gonna meet. And I say that to send a message to all the young thugs out there; that it's nothing to be ashamed of to say you love your mother.
If you look at my job, my union card, it says 'actor.' It don't say nothing about celebrity, movie star, nothing like that, and that's one thing that keeps me humble.
In high school, I majored in brick masonry. We had the wood shop, the machine shop, so I know about all that. I wanted to build buildings when I graduated from high school. I do know my way around that stuff.
God didn't make me to make movies, flex muscles, buy gold. What you love the most becomes your God... If I never make another dollar, my life is complete.
