I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, during the peak of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.
The Story and An Iconic Moment
In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. For much of the film's runtime, the procedural element acts as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to film humorous scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a child named Joseph, who unprompted announces and informs the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”
The boy behind the line was played by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also frequently attends the con circuit. Recently shared his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.
A Young Actor's Perspective
Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?
Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.
That's impressive, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?
Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like mental photographs.
Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?
My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, once I learned to 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 incredibly nice. He was fun. He was nice, which I guess makes sense. It would be strange if he was mean 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 have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”
I was aware he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the hottest tech out there, that funky old 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 wore out in time. I also was given a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.
Do you remember your experience as being fun?
You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.
The Infamous Moment
OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you know what you were saying?
At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.
“She really wrestled with it.”
How it came about, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, reportedly the filmmakers 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, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.
