Anthony Mackie on His Friendship with the Late Malcolm-Jamal Warner (Exclusive)

Anthony Mackie is reflecting on his special friendship with the late Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

Mackie recently sat down with PEOPLE alongside his Twisted Metal costar, Stephanie Beatriz, to discuss the latest season of the series, when the topic turned to the The Cosby Show actor.

“I’m proud to say Malcom-Jamal Warner was a friend of mine,” Mackie, 46, said. “He’s somebody that I knew and spent time with, and just was such a beautiful human being.”

“And every time I was around him, I was able to take full advantage of those conversations and that time. That, for me, is the most important thing,” he added.

Warner ​​died in an accidental drowning while on a family vacation in Costa Rica on July 20. He was 54.

Mackie went on to reflect on his time — and mentorship — with the late actor and “icon” Andre Braugher, who died of lung cancer in December 2023 at the age of 61.

“Being in New York and that new kid on the theater scene. To have those lessons and those moments and have that communicated [by] such — at that time for me — such an icon in the business,” he recalled.

He added, “I always tell people just take full advantage of those moments [with mentors] and truly be yourself so that that person can see, react and engage with who you are and not some fictitious idea of who you think they want you to be.”

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Beatriz, who worked closely with Braugher on the hit comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine for eight seasons, also shared her thoughts on loss — as well as her advice for taking full advantage of the time we have with the people we love.

“Unfortunately, we all go through grief in our lives,” Beatriz, 44, began, adding, “And all you really have are those memories.”

“So Anthony’s absolutely right,” she added. “Coming to people in your life with the truest, most honest self as much as you can at all times is gonna feed the memories when you lose them. And hopefully feed their memories when someday they might lose you.”

Mackie and Beatriz currently star together in the Peacock original series Twisted Metal, a post-apocalyptic action comedy adapted from the popular PlayStation game of the same name.

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Twisted Metal, season 2, premiered on Peacock on July 31 with a three-episode drop. Season 1 of the series is available for streaming.