Texas dad’s side hustle impersonating Mr T at parties after being laid off in pandemic leads to Super Bowl appearance

A Texas dad who professionally impersonates Mr T and even has a mohawk to resemble the actor’s signature style, getting “constantly” mistaken for him despite there being a 30-year age gap, now performs at weddings and parties as the actor for hundreds of dollars an hour and was even asked to stand in for him at this year’s Super Bowl.

Sterling Hunter, 42, an account executive who lives in Fort Worth, Texas with his daughter, Oksana, 13, began dressing up as Mr T for Halloween after he rediscovered his love for The A Team, the 1980s American television series starring the actor, while feeding his daughter in the middle of the night as a baby.

He even went one step further and shaved his hair into a mohawk for Halloween and did so for the following 10 years.

After getting laid off in 2020, he decided to impersonate Mr T full-time to make some extra money, repeating the character’s iconic catchphrase “I pity the fool” and making use of a wardrobe full of camouflage clothing.

Sterling has since performed at weddings, typically charging 300 US dollars (£235) for the first hour and 125 dollars (£98) for additional hours, and even appeared at this year’s Super Bowl as a stand-in for Mr T himself.

Sterling told PA Real Life: “I constantly get mistaken for Mr T – I’d say about 75% of people usually think that I’m really Mr T.

“The crazy thing is, I’m 42 and there’s a 30-year age difference between me and Mr T.”

After Sterling’s daughter was born in December 2009, he became a stay-at-home dad for a year, and he ended up rediscovering his love for The A Team, the 1983 to 1987 American television series starring Mr T.

“I would take my daughter into the living room to feed her in the middle of the night, at about one or two in the morning, to keep her from waking her mama,” he said.

“All episodes were on Netflix so I got to watch those.

“One night, I was just like, ‘I’ve got to cut my hair, just like Mr. T.’

“I started thinking, ‘Well, I can do that for Halloween, so that’d be awesome’.

“So I had from basically December to October the next year to get it right.

“I’d cut my hair (into a mohawk) and then grow it out, cut it a bit shorter, until Halloween.

“My costume wasn’t as detailed as it is now – I wore one silver chain and I ended up doing it every Halloween.”

On why he likes Mr T so much, he said: “He’s kind of a positive and uplifting person… it’s crazy, because I always joke and say, when people hire me for birthday parties, they’re actually hiring me because I’m actually like Mr T apart from the voice.

“We have so many similarities, like I love telling jokes and stuff, and it’s not like a switch I turn on to become him.”

In 2020, Sterling was working at a hotel in Texas but was laid off due to the pandemic – so, to make some extra money, he decided to try impersonating Mr T professionally, after lockdown restrictions were lifted.

“I started watching even more of A Team and rewatched Rocky 3,” Sterling explained.

“I bought some jumpsuits and lots of camo as well.

“I’ve got everything apart from an African print jacket which I’m looking at getting.

“When I’m hired, I ask people if there’s a particular costume they’d like me to wear.”

On what his loved ones think of his  job, he said: “They think it’s pretty cool.

“My daughter of course, when I first started going out and doing it, she thought it was cool when she was younger.

“But since I’ve been doing it for so long, people stop me in public.”

Over time, Sterling has grown in popularity, often working as an MC at weddings and birthday events once a week.

He has since had to go back to work full-time due to the unreliability of lookalike work, but in February 2024, he attended the Super Bowl as Mr T.

“The real Mr T was actually doing stuff with Skechers… so they hired me to stand in for him,” Sterling explained.

“He was in one of the Super Bowl commercials for Skechers, and they wanted him there to meet fans and take part in this promotion.

“They asked me to come and I met Mr T fans and did some videos.

“In the past, I’ve done some social media promotions in America too, and some commercials.

“I’ve been hired to be an MC for different events and it’s usually a bunch of big crowds, so I’m on the microphone hyping people up.

“If I have to be in character the whole time, I’ll go watch Rocky 3 and say ‘I pity the fool’ and everyone always wants me to say that.”

On what he would say to people who think he is not old enough to understand Mr T, he said: “I remember being at my grandma’s house watching it, but I can’t say I was a hardcore fan then.

“Now I’ve learnt so much about him.”

Looking to the future, he said: “I have a lot of eighties festivals lined up for the summer which I’m excited for.

“It would be so cool to get a picture with Mr T, I’d love that.

“I’m hoping they reboot The A Team and I can be in that – it would be awesome to be in the new A Team.

“My first goal, even over that, is to be able to meet him.”