I Am the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.
The Austrian Oak is best known as an iconic tough guy. However, during the peak of his star power in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this winter.
The Story and That Line
In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the procedural element serves as a loose framework for Arnold to share adorable scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a student named Joseph, who unprompted rises and informs the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”
The boy behind the line was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a character arc on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films on the horizon. Additionally, he engages with fans at popular culture events. He recently recalled his memories from the production after all this time.
Memories from the Set
Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?
Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.
Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you have any memories from that time?
Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections.
Do you recall how you got the part 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 just have to wait, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content I was reading.
Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?
He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was unpleasant 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 mean to all the kids in the classroom.”
I knew he was a big action star because I was told, but I had barely seen 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 was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the must-have gadget, 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 eventually broke. I also was given a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.
Do you remember your time filming as being positive?
You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, 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 just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.
The Line
OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?
At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. 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.
“It was a difficult decision for her.”
How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. 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. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.