I Was the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Candid Conversation.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. But, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.
The Role and An Iconic Moment
In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who masquerades as a elementary educator to catch a killer. For much of the movie, the procedural element functions as a basic structure for Arnold to film humorous interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous belongs to a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere announces and informs the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”
The young actor was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he frequently attends the con circuit. Recently shared his experiences from the filming of the classic 35 years later.
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 smallest of all the kids on set.
That's impressive, I have no memory from being four. Do you have any memories from that time?
Yeah, a little bit. They're brief images. They're like mental photographs.
Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?
My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids 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 that was it. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content I was reading.
Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?
He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I guess isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was great to work with.
“It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”
I understood he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.
Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable?
You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, 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 big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.
The Infamous Moment
OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember how it happened? 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 made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was humorous.
“My mom thought hard about it.”
How it came about, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, I suppose 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 didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she felt it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.
