Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known as Theo from The Cosby Show, has died at age 54 while vacationing with his family in Costa Rica. Officials confirmed he drowned after being caught in a strong ocean current.

The actor once believed marriage and fatherhood weren’t for him. “I knew myself well enough to know I wasn’t going to get married and give a woman half of my [stuff], because I [messed] up,” he said in an honest interview. But everything changed when he met the woman who became his wife.

After years of avoiding serious relationships, Warner took a break from dating. A friend encouraged him to go on one casual date — and that meeting quietly changed his life. Over time, he and his future wife built a strong bond, eventually becoming parents to a daughter he deeply cherished.

“Though I never expected to marry or be a dad, they became everything,” he shared. In his final years, Warner found peace, love, and purpose in the family he never thought he’d have.

Rest in peace, Malcolm-Jamal Warner — a father, husband, and icon.