I Was the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.
The Austrian Oak is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.
The Film and The Famous Scene
In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who poses as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. During the story, the procedural element serves as a basic structure for Arnold to have charming interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous belongs to a child named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and states the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”
That iconic child was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects on the horizon. He also engages with fans at popular culture events. Recently discussed his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop 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 smallest of all the kids on set.
That's remarkable, I can't remember being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?
Yeah, a little bit. They're brief images. They're like visual recollections.
Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?
My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would feed me the lines 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 very kind. He was fun. He was pleasant, which I guess makes sense. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.
“It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”
I knew he was a big action star because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex 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 a major status symbol. This was the must-have gadget, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.
Do you remember your experience as being positive?
You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. 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 the star himself, the legendary director, the location shoot, seeing the set, 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 meat from the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children 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 childhood recollections.
The Infamous Moment
OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?
At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, 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 were still developing characters. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. 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 felt it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.
