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Joe Carnahan Praises Quinton Jackson's Performance as B.A. Baracus in The A-Team

Mr. T has said he won't make a cameo in the upcoming remake of The A-Team, but fans may not be disappointed by missing out on seeing the original B.A. Baracus. A-Team director Joe Carnahan told MTV that Mr. T's replacement, former UFC fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, has made the part his own.

Rampage and I had a lot of conversations about how we were adamant that this character was B.A. Baracus, and not Mr. T. And while Mr. T is enshrined as B.A., you can't be afraid to take someone [and make it your own]. All things being equal, "Rampage" Jackson is certainly the modern-day equivalent of what Mr. T was back in the day. So, I didn't have any qualms about he and I assigning a different set of characteristics. The Mohawk is there. The "I pity the fool" is there, but for a completely different way. We didn't go a lot with the gold — but today, he's tatted up, and we didn't try to hide that. I don't think anyone is going to leave the theater and say "Rampage blew it." The legacy of B.A. Baracus is perfectly intact.

Jackson is an unproven quantity amongst the rest of the A-Team cast, which includes Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, and even District 9's Sharlto Copley. Carnahan says that he knew Jackson was right for he part from the very beginning.

Rampage auditioned for a previous version of [the A-Team movie] when it was ramping up under a different director; different circumstances. I saw that audition, and thought he was a guy that had some raw skill. I brought him to Vancouver to screen test him, and the scene is actually in the movie. The scene he screen tested for was so unbelievably [good]. There is a moment where he has this vow that B.A. takes, and Rampage delivered it so perfectly. Over the course of this production he became quite a fine film actor, because he began to understand how to hit a mark, where the camera is; what that inner play is. I think he's gonna surprise the hell out of people.

• The A-Team - Trailer Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, and Sharlto Copley star