I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Look Back.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this holiday season.
The Role and The Famous Scene
In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. Throughout the movie, the investigation plot functions as a basic structure for the star to have charming scenes with children. The most unforgettable involves a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and declares the actor, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”
The boy behind the line was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a character arc on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the character of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. He also is a regular on the con circuit. Recently discussed his recollections from the production after all this time.
Memories from the Set
Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?
Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.
That's impressive, I can't remember being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?
Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.
Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?
My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.
Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?
He was very kind. He was playful. He was nice, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.
“It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”
I understood he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It wore out in time. I also was given a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.
Do you remember your time filming as being positive?
You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.
The Line
OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?
At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny.
“My mom thought hard about it.”
How it came about, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it will probably be one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.