Police Confirm Details of Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s Passing, Including Place and Cause of Death

More details have emerged in the sudden death of Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

Costa Rica National Police told ABC News Monday that the actor, best known for his role as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, drowned off the coast of Costa Rica Sunday. He was 54.

Police say that Warner was caught by a high current in the water near Cocles, a beach in Limon, Costa Rica, and was discovered Sunday afternoon. The actor was formally identified by police, and his cause of death was determined to be asphyxia.

News broke Monday afternoon that Warner had “drowned while swimming” while on a family vacation, according to PEOPLE‘s source.

Warner is best known for his role as the son of Bill Cosby’s Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show, a character that earned him an Emmy nomination in 1986 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Warner appeared on the iconic sitcom from 1984 to 1992 before going on to star in Malcolm & Eddie with Eddie Griffin from 1996 to 2000. He would then star as Alex Reed in Reed Between the Lines alongside Tracee Ellis Ross from 2011 to 2015.

Warner opened up about the “irreversible” impact of The Cosby Show in 2023, telling Bevy Smith at the time, “There’s a generation of us who went to college, they sought out higher education because of that show. There’s a generation of us that went and got married and had loving relationships with each other and their children because of that show.”

In recent years, Warner appeared as Chuck Cooper in Major Crimes and as Julius Rowe in Suits, as well as in the role of AJ Austin in The Resident. He most recently appeared on 9-1-1 and Alert: Missing Persons Unit, and was one of the hosts of the podcast Not All Hood.