I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back.
The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. But, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this winter.
The Role and An Iconic Moment
In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. For much of the story, the procedural element functions as a simple backdrop for Arnold to share adorable interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout features a student named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and states the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”
The young actor was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career featured a notable part on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films in development. Additionally, he is a regular on fan conventions. He recently recalled his memories from the filming of the classic over three decades on.
Memories from the Set
Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?
Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.
Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you have any memories from that time?
Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.
Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?
My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, that was some of the first material 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 guess makes sense. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was great to work with.
“It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”
I was aware he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.
Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable?
You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, the production design, 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 original Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.
The Infamous Moment
OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?
At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. 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.
“She really wrestled with it.”
How it originated, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, I suppose it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. 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.