How Malcolm-Jamal Warner Got Cast in ‘The Cosby Show’ — Even Though He Was the Opposite of What Producers Wanted

Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who died tragically at the age of 54, is best known to fans as Theo Huxtable on hit ’80s and ’90s sitcom The Cosby Show. But as he explained in a 2023 appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan, at 14, he wasn’t quite what producers had in mind for the Cosby family’s only son. In fact, as he revealed in the interview, he was cast by Bill Cosby himself on the final day of auditions.