I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.
The action icon is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. But, at the height of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this holiday season.
The Role and The Famous Scene
In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. For much of the movie, the crime storyline functions as a loose framework for the star to share adorable scenes with children. Arguably the most famous involves a student named Joseph, who unprompted rises and informs the stoic star, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”
That iconic child was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the character of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films on the horizon. He also frequently attends fan conventions. Not long ago recalled his memories from the production after all this time.
Behind the Scenes
Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?
Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.
Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything 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 bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words 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 impression of him?
He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I suppose stands to reason. 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 understood he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also was given a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.
Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?
You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest 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.
That Famous Quote
OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?
At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative 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 comedic.
“She really wrestled with it.”
How it was conceived, according to family lore, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.
