I Was the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Candid Conversation.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this December.
The Role and An Iconic Moment
In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. For much of the story, the investigation plot acts as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to have charming interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous involves a student named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and states the stoic star, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”
That iconic child was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the character of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also is a regular on popular culture events. He recently discussed his recollections from the production over three decades on.
Memories from the Set
Question: Starting off, 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 have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?
Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.
Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?
My parents, primarily my mom would accompany 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 briefly, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would feed me the lines and then, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.
Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?
He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which arguably makes sense. 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 a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”
I was aware he was a major movie star because my family informed me, 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 just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, 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 dangling there. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It wore out in time. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.
Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?
You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.
That Famous Quote
OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?
At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was humorous.
“She really wrestled with it.”
How it originated, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, I suppose the filmmakers 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, I need time" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.
