🔗 Share this article I Was the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: An Interview. The Austrian Oak is best known as an action movie legend. Yet, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this December. The Story and The Famous Scene In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot functions as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to share adorable moments with his young class. The most unforgettable features a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and informs the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.” The young actor was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the character of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films in development. Additionally, he is a regular on popular culture events. He recently shared his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time. A Young Actor's Perspective Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop? Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set. That's impressive, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time? Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections. Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop? My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. 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 very kind. He was playful. He was good-natured, which arguably stands to reason. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was a joy to have on set. “It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.” I knew he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the must-have gadget, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well. Do you remember your days on set as being fun? You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided 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 quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes. That Famous Quote 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 taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny. “It was a difficult decision for her.” How it came about, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.
The Austrian Oak is best known as an action movie legend. Yet, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this December. The Story and The Famous Scene In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot functions as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to share adorable moments with his young class. The most unforgettable features a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and informs the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.” The young actor was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the character of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films in development. Additionally, he is a regular on popular culture events. He recently shared his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time. A Young Actor's Perspective Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop? Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set. That's impressive, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time? Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections. Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop? My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. 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 very kind. He was playful. He was good-natured, which arguably stands to reason. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was a joy to have on set. “It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.” I knew he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the must-have gadget, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well. Do you remember your days on set as being fun? You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided 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 quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes. That Famous Quote 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 taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny. “It was a difficult decision for her.” How it came about, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.