I Was the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.
The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. However, in the midst of his star power in the late 20th century, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.
The Story and The Famous Scene
In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who poses as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. For much of the story, the procedural element acts as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous belongs to a student named Joseph, who unprompted announces and declares the stoic star, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”
That iconic child was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects in development. He also frequently attends the con circuit. Not long ago shared his experiences from the production 35 years later.
Behind the Scenes
Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?
Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.
That's remarkable, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?
Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.
Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?
My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading.
Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?
He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which arguably makes sense. It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.
“It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”
I knew he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was working hard, 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 incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. That was the hottest tech out there, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too 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 an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional 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 first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys 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 Infamous Moment
OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?
At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I understood it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was humorous.
“She really wrestled with it.”
How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.
