I Was the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Candid Conversation.
The action icon is best known as an iconic tough guy. Yet, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this winter.
The Story and That Line
In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a elementary educator to catch a killer. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot serves as a loose framework for Arnold to film humorous scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and states the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”
That iconic child was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. He also engages with fans at the con circuit. Not long ago discussed his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.
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 smallest of all the kids on set.
Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you remember anything from that time?
Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.
Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?
My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.
Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?
He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which I suppose stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.
“It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”
I was aware he was a big action 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 just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I used to rock out 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 coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.
Do you remember your experience as being fun?
You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.
The Line
OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you know what you were saying?
At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.
“She really wrestled with it.”
How it was conceived, based on what I was told, 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 wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.