Lou Diamond Phillips is remembering Malcolm-Jamal Warner as a dear friend … telling us the late ‘Cosby Show’ star was a kind and sweet man.

We got Lou in New York City on Thursday and our photog asked him about Ozzy Osbourne‘s death … and after praising the late Black Sabbath rocker for being on the cutting edge of media, he revealed his friendship with Malcolm-Jamal.

Lou says he and MJW used to hang out … telling us the guy “just generated love” and characterizing his death as a big shock and a huge loss.

No one really knew these two were friends, but the pairing kinda makes sense … they were both huge in the ’80s … with Malcolm-Jamal starring on “The Cosby Show” and Lou starring in big movies like “Young Guns,” “Stand and Deliver” and “La Bamba.”

TMZ broke the story … Malcolm-Jamal died Sunday in Costa Rica, drowning at a popular beach after being swept underwater by a powerful rip tide.