John "Hannibal" Smith Ex-
United States Army Special Forces 5th Special Forces Group Lieutenant-Colonel/
Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith (portrayed by
George Peppard) is the leader of the A-Team. He is a brilliant tactician and a master of disguise. Hannibal is distinguished by his cigar smoking, black gloves, disguises, and his
catch phrase, "I love it when a plan comes together." Always "on the jazz" (a phrase coined by B.A., meaning that Hannibal thrives on adventure and life-threatening situations), he seems to genuinely enjoy every situation they get into. He also works as an actor, playing monsters in low-budget horror movies. The producers originally had
James Coburn in mind to play the part of Hannibal, but it eventually went to Peppard. He is portrayed by
Liam Neeson in the film adaptation and voiced by
David Lodge in
Lego Dimensions. The character was partly inspired by
Bo Gritz, a US Army
Special Forces officer.
Templeton Arthur "Faceman" Peck Ex-
United States Army Special Forces 5th Special Forces Group First Lieutenant Templeton "Face(man)" Peck (portrayed by
Tim Dunigan for the pilot and
Dirk Benedict for all other appearances) was suave, smooth-talking, and popular with women. Serving as the team's
con man and scrounger, he is able to get his hands on just about anything they need. He is Hannibal's second-in-command and arranges for supplies, equipment, and sensitive information using numerous scams and hustles. Raised in a Christian orphanage, Face has respect for the church. Amy and Murdock give some insight into Face's true character; while Face has a good heart, he fears commitment. In Season Five, Face's birth name is revealed to actually be Richard Bancroft; his father left him and his mother, who died shortly afterwards. He is later portrayed by
Bradley Cooper in the film adaptation and voiced by
Sam Riegel in
Lego Dimensions.
H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock Ex–
United States Army Pilot
Captain H. M. "Howling Mad" Murdock (portrayed by
Dwight Schultz) was one of the best pilots in the Vietnam War, specializing in helicopters but adept at all aircraft. He is either mentally unstable or exceptionally good at pretending to be so. Although he was their pilot on the Hanoi bank raid, he was not officially part of the A-Team and so not tried by the military. Interned at a psychiatric hospital, he routinely escapes easily to accompany the A-Team on their missions. The symptoms of his "insanity" varies from episode to episode, but generally includes self-identification with fictional characters, hallucinations, and belief in the "intelligence" of inanimate objects, among others. He frequently refers to his invisible dog, "Billy." Unlike B.A., the initials "H.M." were never explained in terms of Murdock's actual name, and the nickname "Howlin' Mad" is simply attributed to him. He was permanently discharged from the hospital in the fifth season. He is portrayed by
Sharlto Copley in the film adaptation, where he also identifies himself as an Army Ranger. Dwight Schultz reprised him in
Lego Dimensions.
Bosco Albert "B.A." Baracus Ex–
United States Army Special Forces 5th Special Forces Group Sergeant First Class Bosco Albert "B.A." Baracus (portrayed by
Mr. T) is a highly skilled mechanic and the A-Team's regular Mr. Fix-It as well as being the team's master at arms. His character is basically that of the public persona of Mr. T himself. He is a skilled fighter and is easily aroused to anger, earning him the nickname "Bad Attitude". Despite his reputed attitude, he is a very nice guy at heart. He has a special fondness for children and
never drinks alcohol, preferring
milk instead. He is frequently perturbed by Murdock, whom he often refers to as a "crazy fool". He suffers an intense
fear of flying, especially when the aircraft in question is flown by Murdock. This difficulty is often overcome by other members of the team drugging him, or otherwise rendering him unconscious, so he can be transported without objection; he has the unusual habit of falling on car horns when knocked out. He is portrayed by
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in the film adaptation and by
Dave Fennoy in
Lego Dimensions.
Additional A-Team members Amy Allen Amy Amanda "Triple A" Allen (portrayed by
Melinda Culea) was an intrepid reporter for the
L.A. Courier paper who joined the team in its pilot episode. At the end of the pilot, Hannibal comments on how her initials are "Triple A", but while much of the publicity surrounding the series used this name, it was never really used again in the show itself, with a company set up by the Team in the first season episode "The Out-Of-Towners" called "Triple-A's" being its only other appearance in the actual series (and even this was only referenced visually, with no acknowledgment to it in the dialogue). The character's boss is Grant Eldridge (
Philip Sterling), seen in the first half of the pilot, and in the first season episode "Holiday In The Hills". Amy has a best friend at the Courier, Zach (
Ron Palillo), who is only seen in the pilot and never referred to again. Amy was written out of the show in the middle of the second season as a result of a conflict between Culea and the production team. After being featured prominently in the pilot story, the character had little impact in many of the following episodes causing Culea to become increasingly unhappy with the role and wanting more to do, such as taking part in the Team's frequent fights with bad guys. It's also said that the fact that George Peppard didn't like her, feeling that the show didn't need a female lead, also had an effect. There are conflicting reports over whether Culea eventually left on her own accord, or if she was fired as a result of her continual pushing for more to do in the show. The latter is the more commonly accepted reason, and an oft-cited tale is that Culea found out about her firing when she was given a script and found out she was not included in the episode. In replacement Tawnia Baker's first episode, "The Battle of Bel Air", Amy is reportedly "on foreign correspondent duty" in
Jakarta. She is voiced by
Marisha Ray in
Lego Dimensions.
Tawnia Baker Tawnia Baker (misspelled as
Tanya on a computer screen in the character's introductory episode "The Battle Of Bel Air"; portrayed by
Marla Heasley) was a relatively short-lived second-season replacement for Amy during late
1983 – early
1984. She was also a reporter who had heard of the team through Amy and helped the A-Team out a few times, although she never fully incorporated herself into the team, as Amy had done (reflected by the fact that she was never added to the opening credits, and was not present in two stories, "Harder Than It Looks" and "Semi-Friendly Persuasion", during her time in the series). The character was dropped in "The Bend In The River", the feature-length second story of the third season, again said to be much to do with Peppard's insistence that the show didn't need a female character, but was given the dignity of being written out properly, as she married explorer Brian Leftcourt (
Barry Van Dyke), whom the Team had rescued from river pirates in the Amazon, and went on a round-the-world-all-expenses-paid honeymoon. Marla Heasley had appeared in a small role previously in the second season, as Cherise in the episode "Bad Time on the Border".
Tia Fulbright Tia Fulbright (portrayed by
Tia Carrere) was the half-Vietnamese daughter of latter 4th season antagonist General Fullbright. She was inducted into the team in "The Sound of Thunder", the finale to season 4, after the death of her father and her own wanted status in Vietnam and illegal status in the US. However, Carrere's contractual obligations to
General Hospital, made during a period when 5th season renewal for the series was uncertain, led to Tia vanishing from the story with no explanation or further mention.
Frankie "Dishpan Man" Santana Frankie "Dishpan Man" Santana (portrayed by
Eddie Velez) was a
Puerto Rican special effects expert who helps the A-Team during the final season. He was blackmailed into joining the team by Gen. Stockwell after he and Murdock helped the team escape the firing squad. The character's early script name was Frankie Sanchez, which filtered through to a number of coverage material. The character was also often given the nickname "Dishpan Man" (or simply "Dishpan") in much of the series' coverage, but while he was introduced as this in the fifth season opener, itself called "Dishpan Man", this nickname was very seldom used afterwards in the actual series. Frankie is unique as he refers to Hannibal Smith by his first name 'Johnny' whilst the others would use his nickname Hannibal or his rank of Colonel. In "The Theory of Revolution" it is remarked that Frankie claimed to have served as a paratrooper although Murdock is skeptical of this given his unfamiliarity with the military 24hr time system. It is mentioned that he has a father in a nursing home in "Trial By Fire". Unlike Amy and Tawnia, Frankie makes full participation in action sequences and normally uses a Heckler and Koch P7 pistol. ==Military Police==