I Was the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, at the height of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this winter.
The Film and That Line
In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. Throughout the movie, the crime storyline functions as a loose framework for Arnold to have charming moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout involves a child named Joseph, who unprompted rises and declares the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”
The boy behind the line was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films in development. Furthermore, he is a regular on fan conventions. Not long ago discussed his memories from the filming of the classic 35 years later.
Memories from the Set
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 impressive, I can't remember 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 landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?
My family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.
Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?
He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was good-natured, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was a dick 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 have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”
I understood he was a big action star because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength 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 the hottest tech. It was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a genuine metal whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.
Do you remember your time filming as being fun?
You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand new. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.
That Famous Quote
OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?
At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was humorous.
“My mom thought hard about it.”
How it originated, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.