Kindergarten Cop Actor Christian Cousins Dies at 43

Christian Cousins, a former child actor known for Kindergarten Cop and Knots Landing, has died at 43. His brother Jonas Roeser announced his death in an October tribute, saying Cousins had been very ill with liver disease. A cause of death was not confirmed in the account of the announcement.

Cousins and his twin brother, Joseph “Joey” Cousins, played Dominic in the 1990 film Kindergarten Cop, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The twins also appeared on Knots Landing as Bobby Gibson Ewing from 1987 to 1993.

Roeser said he and the twins shared a biological father, but grew up in different states and did not meet until he was in college. He recalled watching his brothers on television before they became close, and described Christian as energetic, passionate and full of ambitions.

In 1988, the brothers had a guest role on the television series Highway to Heaven, when they were five. Their final acting role was in the 1995 film Twin Sitters. Cousins later said that the filmmakers chose twins for the Kindergarten Cop role in part because of limits on how many hours child actors could work.

The film’s cast reunited with Schwarzenegger in 2020 to reflect on making the comedy. Roeser wrote that he hoped his brother had found peace and would be missed.