Malcolm-Jamal Warner Reflected on His Legacy In Interview Weeks Before His Death

Just weeks before his untimely death, Malcolm-Jamal Warner spoke about the legacy he hopes to leave behind.

In one of his final public interviews, Warner reflected deeply on legacy, mortality, and the impact of his life during an episode of the Hot & Bothered with Melyssa Ford podcast, uploaded on May 21, 2025.

Near the 51-minute mark, Ford asked him about what he hoped his legacy would be.

“I mean, because I'm 54. I think about that a lot,” Warner said. “It's interesting, I remember my mother said to me one time that ‘Mr. Cosby gave you immortality.’”

Acknowledging the truth in that, Warner added, “So I know on one lane, there's legacy there, but also because my life, you know, those former years were always about life beyond Cosby, right? So I feel like, OK, there's that legacy there, but then because I've had this full life after that show. There's another lane of legacy that I get to leave, and I'm still working through that.”

However, Warner implied that what mattered most to him was being remembered for his character.

“There is part of me that I will be able to leave this earth, you know, knowing and people knowing that I was a good person,” he said. “I talked to my dad, I talked to him yesterday and he said to me often, ‘You know, people love you and people always talking about, you know, your career and your success and all of that.’ He said, ‘But what really makes me the most proud is that you are a good person.’”

“But I'm a good person because my dad's a good person. That's a whole another thing,” Warner added. “Again, it is possible to walk through this world, and with all of the darkness in the world, it is possible to maintain your soul and be a good person.”

Warner died of an accidental drowning on July 20 in Cocles Beach in Limon, Costa Rica after being caught in a high current, according to ABC News.

Costa Rican National Police told the station they formally identified him and attributed his cause of death to asphyxia.

Although the area had been previously patrolled, a lack of resources meant there were no lifeguards to monitor it on the day Warner died, per TMZ.

Known for his role as Theo Huxtable on the Cosby Show, Warner left a lasting mark across television, film, music, and theater. In addition to his Emmy-nominated work as a young actor, Warner earned a Grammy in 2015 for his collaboration with Robert Glasper on a reinterpretation of Stevie Wonder’s “Jesus Children of America.”

His credits include Malcolm & Eddie, the Magic School Bus, American Horror Story: Freak Show, The Resident, Sons of Anarchy, American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson, and many others.

At the time of his death, he was co-hosting the Not All Hood (NAH) podcast with Candace Kelley, which had just released a new episode days prior.

He is survived by his wife and eight-year-old daughter, both of whose identities he chose to keep private.