Malcolm-Jamal Warner Reflected on How He Wanted to Be Remembered Before His Death

The late actor shared his thoughts in what would become his final interview before his death earlier this year, and his outlook was heartbreakingly positive.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner tragically passed away in a drowning incident while vacationing with his family in Costa Rica. The actor left behind a wife and daughter in the wake of his death. He was 54.

Warner reflected on what he hoped his legacy would be during his appearance on the "Hot & Bothered with Melyssa Ford" podcast, in an episode that aired May 21. He admitted that it was something he thought about "a lot."

"I remember my mother said to me one time that 'Mr. [Bill] Cosby gave you immortality.' So I know on one lane there's legacy there," he told the host. Warner played Bill Cosby's onscreen son, Theo Huxtable, in the beloved sitcom "The Cosby Show."

The series ran for eight seasons between 1984 and 1992. "I feel like, okay, 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," he explained.

Beyond his acting career, Warner said he wanted to be remembered as a good person. "There's part of me that I will be able to leave this earth knowing — and people knowing — that I was a good person," he said.

He spoke of how his father often told him that people would love him for his career and success. "'But what really makes me the most proud is that you are a good person'" he recalled his father saying.

"I'm a good person because my dad's a good person. 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 said.