I Was the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Candid Conversation.
The Austrian Oak is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, during the peak of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.
The Role and That Line
In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the procedural element serves as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to share adorable scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout features a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and informs the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”
The boy behind the line was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies in development. Furthermore, he engages with fans at fan conventions. Recently shared his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop 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 can't remember being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?
Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.
Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?
My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, 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, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content I was reading.
Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?
He was very kind. He was playful. He was good-natured, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was a dick 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 a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”
I was aware he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the coolest device, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a authentic coach's whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.
Do you remember your experience as being positive?
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 the star himself, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. 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 hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.
The Line
OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?
At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.
“It was a difficult decision for her.”
How it was conceived, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.