I Am the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back.
The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. But, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this winter.
The Role and The Famous Scene
In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who poses as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the movie, the crime storyline acts as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to have charming scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout features a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and declares the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”
The boy behind the line was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the character of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects in development. He also is a regular on the con circuit. He recently shared his recollections from the filming of the classic 35 years later.
Memories from the Set
Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?
Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.
That's remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you have any memories from that time?
Yeah, somewhat. 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 dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. 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 playful. He was pleasant, which arguably 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 positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.
“It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”
I was aware he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. 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 personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also have a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.
Do you remember your days on set as being positive?
You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, being on a professional set, 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 pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.
That Famous Quote
OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?
At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.
“She really wrestled with it.”
How it originated, according to family lore, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes 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, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.
