It has been reported that the role was originally written with James Coburn in mind, but Coburn declined, and thus it went to Peppard. Peppard was reportedly annoyed by Mr. T upstaging him in his public image, and at one point in their relationship, refused to speak directly to Mr. T. Instead, he sent messages through intermediaries (including at times fellow cast members, particularly Dirk Benedict), and for this, Peppard was occasionally portrayed by the press as not a team player. Melinda Culea claimed it was Peppard who got her fired after the first season.