Morris Chestnut is remembering Malcolm-Jamal Warner, his co-star on The Resident, after his recent passing.
Speaking with PEOPLE, Chestnut spoke about the impact that Warner had on him as an actor after working together for two seasons of the show.
Chestnut said he “still can’t believe that Malcolm’s no longer here.”
“He was such a good dude,” Chestnut says, before pointing out an image of them together on set. “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.”
Chestnut also said that Warner’s legendary role as Theo Huxtable “resonated with me the most.”
“I can see myself, as an actor, in his character,” Chestnut says. “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 shared that he and Warner spoke about that episode on the set of The Resident.
“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,” Chestnut said. “[He was] just an incredible dude. I hate what happened to him. Rest in peace.”
Warner played Dr. AJ Austin in the hit medical drama, passed away due to an accidental drowning while on a family vacation in Costa Rica on July 20. He was 54.
Chestnut played neurosurgeon Barrett Cain during his time on the series.
The Resident ran for five years through six seasons on Fox, from 2018 to 2023.