Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s untimely and tragic passing remains fresh in the mind of Morris Chestnut. Speaking with *People*, Chestnut shared fond memories of his *The Resident* co-star, recalling Warner as “such a good dude” and admitting that he “still can’t believe that Malcolm’s no longer here.”
Warner, best known for his iconic role as Theo Huxtable on *The Cosby Show*, tragically died in a drowning accident while on a family vacation in Costa Rica this past July. Chestnut joined the cast of the Fox medical drama in season 3, by which time Warner was already a series regular.
During the interview, Chestnut pointed to a photo of them together on set and said, “I remember this scene. Our characters didn’t like each other. He was very protective of everybody on the show, and that’s kind of how he was.”
Reflecting on the first time he saw Warner as Theo Huxtable, Chestnut recalled how the character resonated with him. “I can see myself, as an actor, in his character,” Chestnut shared. “I hadn’t decided to act at that time, but that probably was one of the first times I was like, ‘Wow, that’s kind of cool. This dude’s an actor on TV, we kind of look alike.’
“Matter of fact, he had one of my favorite episodes on *The Cosby Show* with the Gordon Gartrell shirt—that’s just one of my favorite all-time episodes.”
Chestnut also revealed that he and Warner had talked about that classic episode when they met two years later. “He was telling me a couple stories about working in New York. When I first came to that cast, he was like, ‘Hey, let’s go grab a bite to eat.’ So we went out to dinner. [He was] just an incredible dude. I hate what happened to him. Rest in peace,” Chestnut remembered.
Indeed, Malcolm-Jamal Warner is gone too soon, but his legacy and the impact he made on those around him will not be forgotten.
https://hiphopwired.com/2886623/morris-chestnut-remembers-malcolm-jamal-warner-details/