Kindergarten Cop child star Christian Cousins dies aged 43
Christian Cousins (FB: Christian Cousins)
Christian Cousins, the former child actor who played Dominic in Kindergarten Cop, has died aged 43, with his half-brother Jonas Roeser saying he had been “very sick with liver disease” in an Instagram tribute post.
Roeser wrote: “It’s hard to share that my brother, Christian Cousins, has passed away.”
In the same post, he described Cousins as “a character, full of passion and energy, with big stories and even bigger dreams.” Roeser added: “It brings me comfort to believe he is now in heaven with his mother, free from the pain he was carrying.”
Roeser also explained that Christian and his twin brother, Joseph “Joey” Cousins, are his brothers through their biological father. He said they grew up in California while he grew up in Washington, and that he did not get to know them until he was in college. Roeser recalled watching the twins on TV and in films as he grew up.
What did Jonas Roeser say in his tribute?
Alongside photos of Cousins, Roeser reflected on how his brother’s childhood acting roles were not the whole story.
“But those roles are only a small part of how I’ll remember Christian,” he wrote.
He ended with a message to Cousins: “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.”
Cousins died on 20 October and Roeser shared the news on 22 October.
Christian Cousins’ roles in Kindergarten Cop and Knots Landing
Cousins was a US former child actor best known for playing Dominic in the 1990 comedy Kindergarten Cop, starring alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. The role was shared with his twin brother Joey, a common approach in child casting to meet filming demands.
In a 2020 cast reunion, Cousins said twins were used to help meet filming needs and comply with child labour limits.
Cousins also appeared in the long-running US prime-time soap Knots Landing, a Dallas spin-off that gave young performers major exposure in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His public profile largely centred on his childhood acting work, with limited mainstream credits after the mid-1990s.
