Morris Chestnut fondly remembers his co-star on The Resident, the late Malcolm-Jamal Warner, as “such a good dude.”
The Watson star told People in a recent interview that he “still can’t believe that Malcolm’s no longer here.” Warner died in a drowning accident at the age of 54 while vacationing with his family in Costa Rica in July of this year. The duo worked together on Fox’s medical drama The Resident when Chestnut boarded the show in Season 3 (Warner was a series regular).
Pointing out an image of the two of them on set together, Chestnut 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.”
The Reasonable Doubt actor also recalled the first time he saw Warner: while the latter was starring in The Cosby Show as Theo Huxtable — a role that led him to an Emmy nomination and which “resonated” with Chestnut “the most.”
“I can see myself, as an actor, in his character,” Chestnut recalled. “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.”
When the two met years later, Chestnut and Warner discussed the episode.
Chestnut remembered, “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.”
Warner’s prolific TV career — from his eight seasons on The Cosby Show to his time on Malcolm & Eddie and Reed Between the Lines — was honored by many in the industry since his death, including co-stars and executives. Collaborators like Angela Bassett, Yvette Nicole Brown, Sherri Shepherd, Tracee Ellis Ross were among those to pay tribute, alongside The Resident executive producers and Chestnut, who said at the time, “Working alongside him on The Resident was an honor. He brought so much depth, warmth, and wisdom to every scene and every conversation. One of the nicest in the business. Rest easy, brother. Your legacy lives on.”
