I Am the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an iconic tough guy. However, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this December.
The Story and The Famous Scene
In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. Throughout the movie, the crime storyline functions as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to film humorous interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout features a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and declares the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”
The young actor was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career included a notable part on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films on the horizon. He also is a regular on the con circuit. Recently shared his recollections from the filming of the classic after all this time.
Behind the Scenes
Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?
Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.
Wow, I can't remember being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?
Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.
Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?
My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would feed me the lines and then, once I learned to read, that was some of the first material I was reading.
Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?
He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.
“It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”
I knew he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out 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 hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the coolest device, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.
Do you remember your experience as being positive?
You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.
The Line
OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?
At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking meant, but I understood it was edgy 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.
“My mom thought hard about it.”
How it originated, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly the filmmakers 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 answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she felt it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.