Christian Cousins, Child Star of 'Kindergarten Cop', Dies at 43

Christian Cousins, who shared the role of Dominic Palmieri with his identical twin brother Joey in Ivan Reitman's 1990 comedy 'Kindergarten Cop', died in October at 43. His half brother, Jonas Roeser, announced the death on Instagram, explaining that Christian had been very sick with liver disease.

Roeser wrote: "It's hard to share that my brother, Christian Cousins, has passed away." He remembered him warmly: "He was a character, full of passion and energy, with big stories and even bigger dreams."

Who were the Cousins twins?

Christian and Joseph "Joey" Cousins were born March 17, 1983, in Orange County, California. They landed their first acting job at five years old, in a 1988 episode of 'Highway to Heaven'. As was common for young twins in Hollywood, they shared roles so filming could stay on schedule, and they became two of the busiest child actors of the era.

Their first major role came on the prime-time drama 'Knots Landing', where they took turns playing Bobby Ewing, the son of Gary and Val, appearing in nearly 60 episodes between 1987 and 1992. The casting claim needs no embellishment: Christian himself recalled the 'Kindergarten Cop' audition during a 2020 online reunion with Yahoo Entertainment, saying, "Got hired on the first interview with my brother."

'Kindergarten Cop', directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, became one of the highest-grossing comedies of 1990 and has remained a family favourite across generations. Christian and Joey played Dominic, the sweet, shy boy in Schwarzenegger's kindergarten class.

What did they do after the breakout role?

The twins' screen credits after 1990 include:

• 'Roxanne: The Prize Pulitzer' (1989)
• 'Critters 3' (1991), the horror comedy that also marked Leonardo DiCaprio's film debut
• The miniseries 'Intruders' and 'Getting Up and Going Home' (1992)
• 'Heartbeat' and 'A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion' (1993)
• 'Twin Sitters' (1994), in which they shared top billing with bodybuilding brothers Peter and David Paul

No cause of death beyond liver disease was given, and no further medical or family detail has been made public beyond Roeser's posts.

What does this change for those who knew him?

Roeser, who shares a biological father with the twins, said he grew up in Washington and did not know Christian and Joey until college, though he had watched them on television for years. He said their famous roles were only a small part of how he would remember his brother, and that it comforted him to believe Christian was now at peace with his mother, free from the pain he had been carrying.

"Rest easy, Christian. I hope your soul is at rest and that you've found peace. You are my brother and you will be missed," Roeser wrote.

Christian Cousins shared his spotlight with his brother from the very start, and each family rewatch of 'Kindergarten Cop' now carries that shy little smile in the back of the classroom with a new weight.