I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Candid Conversation.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this December.
The Story and The Famous Scene
In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who poses as a elementary educator to catch a killer. Throughout the film's runtime, the crime storyline acts as a simple backdrop for the star to film humorous scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a child named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and states the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”
The young actor was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies in development. He also is a regular on fan conventions. He recently discussed his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.
Memories from the Set
Interviewer: First, 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 have any memories from that time?
Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.
Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?
My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, when I became literate, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.
Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?
He was very kind. He was fun. He was nice, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.
“It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”
I was aware he was a big action star because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, 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 hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It wore out in time. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach 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 became a phenomenon. 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 direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.
That Famous Quote
OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?
At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was humorous.
“It was a difficult decision for her.”
How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.
