Christian Cousins, who starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dominic Palmieri in the 1990 comedy Kindergarten Cop, has died at the age of 43.
The death of the former child actor ends a career that spanned television and film during the late 1980s and 1990s.
Christian Cousins Grew up in Laguna Niguel with His Twin Brother
- Christian Cousins passed away at 43 after suffering from liver disease, as announced by his half-brother, Jonas Roeser, on social media.
- He shared the role of Dominic with his twin brother, Joseph, playing the son of a drug dealer hiding out in an Oregon town where an undercover cop teaches kindergarten.
- Beyond film work, the twins portrayed Bobby Ewing on the CBS soap opera Knots Landing from 1987 to 1993.
Born March 17, 1983, in Orange County, Cousins grew up in Laguna Niguel with his twin brother, Joseph “Joey” Cousins. The brothers divided acting duties across a series of television and film projects in their youth. Their shared credits included features such as Critters 3 and Twin Sitters, alongside appearances on television series including Eerie, Indiana, Empty Nest, and Intruders.
The brothers gained their most widespread recognition sharing the role of Dominic in Ivan Reitman’s Kindergarten Cop. In the film, their character is the young son of a dangerous drug dealer tracked down by a Los Angeles police detective played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher.
During a 2020 reunion Zoom call with the cast hosted by Yahoo, Cousins reflected on filming the movie’s most intense sequences with co-star Richard Tyson.
“I remember having to act more scared than I’d ever been on camera thus far in my career . . . it was actually a little difficult because despite how evil it seems my dad is, which is Richard Tyson — he’s like the nicest guy in the world in person,” Cousins said.
“It was really hard to act scared of somebody who after every scene [said] ‘That was awesome; you did great!’”
Cousins recalled being seven years old during production and facing immediate public recognition after the film hit theaters. He described being swarmed for autographs at shopping malls, airports, and Disneyland by children who handed him items to sign.
| Project | Role / Details | Years Active |
|---|---|---|
| Knots Landing | Bobby Ewing (shared with Joseph Cousins) | 1987–1993 |
| Kindergarten Cop | Dominic Palmieri (shared with Joseph Cousins) | 1990 |
Christian Cousins Died After Suffering from Liver Disease
Roeser announced the death on social media last month, writing that Cousins “had been very sick with liver disease.” Roeser said that he grew up watching the twins on television in Washington while they lived in California, only getting to know them personally when he reached college.
“It’s hard to share that my brother, Christian Cousins, has passed away,” Roeser wrote on Instagram. “Christian and my twin brother, Joseph ‘Joey’ Cousins, are my brothers through my biological father. They grew up in California while I was in Washington and I didn’t get to know them until I was in college.”
Roeser added that television roles were “only a small part of how I’ll remember Christian.”
“He was a character, full of passion and energy, with big stories and even bigger dreams,” Roeser wrote, noting that it “brings me comfort to believe he is now in heaven with his mother, free from the pain he was carrying.”
On his Facebook page, alongside a 2017 photograph of himself lighting two cigarillos, he later wrote: “The good old days when I could be thin and smoke two bay Sherman’s in one hand. Now I’m regretting it all.”
After stepping away from the screen, Cousins worked in the furniture business.
“Rest easy, Christian,” Roeser wrote. “I hope your soul is at rest and that you’ve found peace. You are my brother and you will be missed.”
