🔗 Share this article I Was the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation. The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. Yet, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this winter. The Story and The Famous Scene In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who poses as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. Throughout the story, the procedural element functions as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to have charming moments with his young class. The most unforgettable involves a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere announces and declares the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.” The young actor was played by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies in development. Additionally, he frequently attends popular culture events. Not long ago shared his experiences from the filming of the classic after all this time. Memories from the Set Question: Starting off, 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 can't remember being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time? Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections. Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop? My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading. Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him? He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was nice, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with. “It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.” I understood he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the must-have gadget, 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 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 time filming as being enjoyable? You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. 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, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation 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 ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes. That Famous Quote OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying? At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous. “It was a difficult decision for her.” How it came about, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. 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 short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.
The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. Yet, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this winter. The Story and The Famous Scene In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who poses as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. Throughout the story, the procedural element functions as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to have charming moments with his young class. The most unforgettable involves a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere announces and declares the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.” The young actor was played by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies in development. Additionally, he frequently attends popular culture events. Not long ago shared his experiences from the filming of the classic after all this time. Memories from the Set Question: Starting off, 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 can't remember being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time? Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections. Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop? My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading. Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him? He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was nice, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with. “It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.” I understood he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the must-have gadget, 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 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 time filming as being enjoyable? You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. 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, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation 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 ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes. That Famous Quote OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying? At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous. “It was a difficult decision for her.” How it came about, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. 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 short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.