The A-Team featured one of television's most memorable ensemble casts. Four charismatic leads carried the show through five seasons and 98 episodes, creating characters that became cultural icons. Here's what happened to the original cast.
George Peppard was already a well-established film and television star when he took on the role of Hannibal, the cigar-smoking leader of the A-Team. Known for classics like Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Blue Flame, Peppard brought gravitas and commanding presence to the role.
Initially, Peppard clashed with the show's lighter tone. He was concerned the show might become "high jinks at the front" — a goofy premise where war was just a pretext for silly stories. He met with producers until 1 a.m. the night before rehearsals to ensure they shared his vision of making the show reflect real people's lives.
Despite his initial reservations, Peppard became the anchor of the show. His delivery of "I love it when a plan comes together" became one of the most recognizable catchphrases in television history. The phrase was so popular it spawned countless T-shirts and merchandise.
Tragically, Peppard died of pneumonia on May 8, 1994, at age 65. His death came just before the show was set for a major revival with a feature film, which instead went forward with Liam Neeson taking over the role.
Mr. T — born Lawrence Tureaud — was relatively unknown before The A-Team, though he had gained attention as a standout personality in Rocky III. His role as B.A. Baracus, the tough-as-nails team member with a fear of flying, made him an instant icon.
Mr. T's distinctive look — the mohawk, gold chains, and array of rings — became one of the most recognizable images in 1980s pop culture. His catchphrase "I pity the fool!" became so popular it was featured on merchandise, cartoons, and was even parodied countless times.
The character's fear of flying meant the team had to transport him sedated in their van, leading to the running gag of B.A. being drugged whenever air travel was necessary.
After The A-Team, Mr. T continued to appear in various films and television shows. He has maintained a strong social media presence into his 70s, running an Instagram page called "Official pity the fool" where he shares updates with fans. At 72 years old, he remains active and engaged with his legacy.
Mr. T entered professional wrestling in 1985, joining WWF (now WWE) at the height of Hulkamania. His first major appearance was on the groundbreaking TV special "The War to Settle the Score" on MTV, where he backed Hulk Hogan in a standoff against Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff.
He headlined the inaugural WrestleMania in 1985, teaming with Hulk Hogan to defeat Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff in the main event. Muhammad Ali served as the guest referee. The following year at WrestleMania II, Mr. T faced Piper in a boxing match at the New York portion of the show, winning by disqualification when Piper attacked the referee.
In 1987, Mr. T was named WWE's "Special Enforcer," tasked with keeping order among wrestlers like The Honky Tonk Man and Bobby Heenan. When Hogan moved to WCW in 1994, Mr. T joined him, serving as referee for many of Hogan's matches, including a steel cage match against Ric Flair at Halloween Havoc. He even defeated Kevin Sullivan at Starrcade in 1994.
In 2014, Mr. T was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame's celebrity wing, recognized for helping bring WWE from a regional company into a pop culture powerhouse.
The show featured several wrestler guest appearances:
Hulk Hogan appeared in two Season 4 episodes. In "Body Slam" (1985), Hogan played himself as an old Vietnam buddy of B.A. Baracus, asking the team to help keep a youth center open that was being threatened by the Carter crime family. The episode featured footage from a real WWF match between Hogan and Greg "the Hammer" Valentine. Hogan returned in "The Trouble with Harry" (1986), alongside NFL star William "The Refrigerator" Perry. Hogan later revealed he was offered a permanent role on the show but turned it down due to friction between Mr. T and George Peppard, saying: "Mr T would say, 'Oh Hulk, you can't be George Peppard's friend. He's not your friend, I'm your friend.' Those guys were fighting all the time."
The A-Team featured numerous celebrity guest stars throughout its run:
Boy George appeared in the Season 4 episode "Cowboy George" (1986), playing himself. The episode featured Face booking a band called "Cowboy George and the Range Rats" for a bar, but Boy George shows up instead. He performed two songs in the episode and reportedly earned $100,000 for his appearance. Boy George later recalled in his autobiography that he had to stay "stoned" to get through filming, and described Mr. T as "fabulous" but noted his ego: "There was some fun, hiding from Mr. T, who would charge into my Winnebago every morning and talk about how wonderful he was."
Rick James guest-starred in "The Heart of Rock'n'Roll" (Season 4), playing himself. The episode featured so much concert footage that the A-Team sometimes seemed like the guest stars.
Pat Sajak and Vanna White appeared as themselves in "Wheel of Fortune" (Season 4), where Murdock wins big on the game show before being kidnapped by criminals posing as CIA agents.
Isaac Hayes appeared as C.J. Mack in "The Heart of Rock'n'Roll."
David McCallum guest-starred in "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair," a deliberate homage to his old series The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Michael Ironside played Miller Crane in "The Taxicab Wars" (1983), one year before he'd become a Ghostbuster.
Xander Berkeley appeared in two episodes, including "The Beast from the Belly of a Boeing" and "Showdown!" He later became known as George Mason on 24 and Gregory on The Walking Dead.
Tracy Scoggins appeared in two episodes, later becoming known for Dynasty, Lois & Clark, and Babylon 5.
No magicians appeared as guest stars on The A-Team.
Dirk Benedict played the smooth-talking con man and ladies' man of the team. His character Face used his charm and wit to con information and resources out of anyone they needed.
Benedict was already an established actor when he took the role, having appeared in films like The Last Starfighter and the original Battlestar Galactica (where he played Lieutenant Starbuck). His career continued steadily after The A-Team ended, with roles in films like Blue Tornado and Shadow Force, as well as television appearances on Murder, She Wrote, Baywatch, and Walker, Texas Ranger.
In 2007, Benedict appeared in the UK reality competition Celebrity Big Brother 5, finishing in third place. He authored a memoir titled Confessions of a Kamikaze Cowboy, detailing his unconventional health journey.
At age 80, Benedict is the oldest surviving member of the main cast. He remains proud of The A-Team's legacy, saying in a 2005 interview: "It tapped into a sort of fundamental, universal morality. It was kind of a morality show. There was good and there was bad. It was a non-violent show, it was kind of a cartoon show. It was very entertaining so people could watch it with their families."
Dwight Schultz played the unhinged helicopter pilot whose mental instability made him both a liability and an invaluable member of the team. Murdock's "cuckoo" behavior provided much of the show's comedy, though he was revealed to be faking his madness in several episodes.
After The A-Team, Schultz had notable film roles including physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in the 1989 historical drama Fat Man and Little Boy, as well as appearances in Star Trek: First Contact and The Temp.
He became well known in the Star Trek universe for playing Reginald Barclay in Star Trek: The Next Generation and three Star Trek films. His voice work has included numerous animated series like Ben 10, Chowder, and CatDog.
At age 73, Schultz continues to act, with recent work including playing Scarecrow in Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo (2020).
Marla Heasley played Tawnia Baker, a reporter who joined in later Season 2 after Melinda Culea's departure. She appeared in only 10 episodes before her character was written out. After The A-Team, Heasley continued acting in the 1980s before stepping away from the industry.
Eddie Velez joined in Season 5 as Frankie Santana, a special effects expert who replaced the departing female characters. His character was introduced when the team became government agents under General Stockwell.
Robert Vaughn played General Hunt Stockwell in Season 5, the mysterious government figure who offers the team pardons in exchange for their black ops services. Vaughn, a legendary actor known for The Man from U.N.C.L.E., passed away in 2024 at age 91.
Behind the scenes of The A-Team, Mr. T and George Peppard had a well-documented feud that lasted much of the show's run. Their conflict became so notorious that Hulk Hogan — who worked with both men — later said they "hated each other with passion."
The tension stemmed from several factors. First, Mr. T emerged as the breakout star of the show, becoming more popular than Peppard himself. Fans were just as likely to say they watched the show for Mr. T as for Peppard. This reportedly irritated Peppard, who had been a established film star before taking the role.
Second, there was a salary dispute. Mr. T was earning more money than Peppard, the nominal lead of the show. Peppard, who was already in debt and had been through three divorces by 1982, reportedly bristled at playing second fiddle to a newcomer.
Third, their personalities simply clashed. According to The Northern Echo, Peppard "wasn't first choice for the role. The producers wanted James Coburn, who was unavailable." Peppard was free after being sacked from Dynasty and needed the work. But his ego struggled with being overshadowed by Mr. T's popularity.
The most publicized clash occurred during filming of the two-hour season opener when the cast was on a cruise ship bound for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Mr. T refused to continue filming after discovering a group of crew members sitting at his customary dinner table. When they refused to budge and reportedly made fun of him and his bodyguard, T demanded they be fired or he would quit.
When the producers refused, Mr. T pleaded illness and left the ship. He later called in sick when shooting resumed back in the US. During this time, producers at SJC Productions claimed he would return, but sources said they shot around him hoping to insert him later if he came back.
Mr. T demanded seven crew members be fired in total, including a wardrobe lady (reportedly born and raised in Britain), sound crew, and the second camera crew. Peppard stepped in and threatened to quit if any of the crew members were fired. According to an interview with Peppard, he went to Stephen J. Cannell's office and said: "If you have a list of 6, you may put George Peppard's name down as number 7, if you're going to fire them."
After this incident, Peppard didn't speak to Mr. T for 16 weeks.
According to reports, the two stars stopped speaking to each other entirely on set, communicating only through third parties. Robert Vaughn, brought in during Season 5 as a peacemaker, later recalled in a 2010 interview that Mr. T would start talking at 7 a.m. in makeup and "would still be talking at 7 o'clock at night."
Marla Heasley, who played Tawnia Baker, witnessed the tension firsthand. She recalled a wrap party where Peppard, who was not allowed to drink due to his contract, delivered a toast "not with a beer" but something else. According to Heasley: "He made a toast to thank everyone for the season, but it started out with, 'Being the star of this show...' It was kind of... no one said anything, but inside I was laughing."
One moment that reportedly deepened the rift was when Mr. T was invited to the White House, where he was pictured with First Lady Nancy Reagan sitting on his lap. This visibility and cultural prominence reportedly didn't sit well with Peppard.
Hulk Hogan, who became friends with both stars, later revealed he was offered a permanent role on The A-Team but turned it down specifically because of the tension between Mr. T and Peppard. He said: "Mr T would say, 'Oh Hulk, you can't be George Peppard's friend. He's not your friend, I'm your friend.' Those guys were fighting all the time."
Despite their differences, both men were professionals who never let their personal conflict show on screen. The chemistry between Hannibal and B.A. remained intact throughout the series.
According to a post on The A-Team Fan Forum, the two eventually made amends before Peppard's death in 1994. After experiencing health issues, Peppard reached out to Mr. T, sending a bouquet of flowers with a kind message acknowledging that despite their difficulties, he appreciated the opportunity to work with him.
The original four leads created chemistry that made The A-Team a ratings juggernaut. While George Peppard's death in 1994 meant he never saw the 2010 film adaptation, his portrayal of Hannibal remains the definitive version. The surviving cast members — Mr. T, Dirk Benedict, and Dwight Schultz — have all expressed pride in the show's enduring legacy and the positive messages it conveyed about helping others and standing up for the innocent.
[1] Entertainment Weekly - A-Team Cast Where Are They Now
[2] Hello Magazine - A-Team Cast Then and Now
[3] SlashFilm - Major Actors Still Alive From The A-Team
[4] Looper - Original A-Team Cast Still Alive
[5] WWE - Mr. T
[7] Yahoo News UK - Celebrity Cameos That Helped Kill Off The A-Team
[8] TV Maze - Body Slam Episode
[9] TV Insider - The Truth About the Feud Between Mr. T and George Peppard
[10] SlashFilm - George Peppard Made A Passive Aggressive Speech
[11] The A-Team Forum - Interview with George about dispute with Mr T
[12] The Northern Echo - Not really a team player
[13] Yahoo News UK - Celebrity Cameos That Helped Kill Off The A-Team
[14] Warped Factor - 20 Famous People Who Guest Starred On THE A-TEAM
[15] Ultimate Classic Rock - That Time Boy George Guest-Starred on The A-Team
[16] Mashable - That time Boy George kicked down a door on The A-Team