Carl Payne -best known as “Cole” on Martin and as “Cockroach” on The Cosby Show– has dropped a few interesting unknown facts about what went down behind the scenes between himself, Bill Cosby, and Malcolm Jamal Warner.
Carl Was Almost “Theo”?!!
In an interview with Comedy Hype, Carl revealed he was THIS close to jackin’ the “Theo” role from Malcolm Jamal Warner. During the final round of auditions, several known actors were in the building. He says Sheryl Lee Ralph auditioned for the “Claire Huxtable” role and Jaleel White (“Urkel” from Family Matters) almost became “Rudy” (which was originally scripted for a boy). Carl says that he, Malcolm, and a dude with a Jheri curl named, ‘Sugar,’ were the final three up for the role of the “Huxtable’s” son, “Theo.”
His Severe Pain After Losing “Theo” Role To Malcolm…
Carl Payne: “I’ll never forget that day…when one of [Cosby’s] assistants came out to tell everybody who got the role. I was sitting next to Malcolm…and I just knew I had did a great job and they was gon’ say ‘You’ (he points to himself). And they looked at me and pointed at him. … It was like I got punched in the stomach by Floyd Mayweather…”
