I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Candid Conversation.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, during the peak of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this holiday season.
The Film and The Famous Scene
In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who poses as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. For much of the film's runtime, the crime storyline acts as a loose framework for the star to film humorous scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere announces and states the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”
The boy behind the line was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects in development. Furthermore, he frequently attends the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his recollections from the production over three decades on.
Behind the Scenes
Interviewer: First, 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.
That's remarkable, I can't remember being four. Do you remember anything from that time?
Yeah, a little bit. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.
Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?
My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, when I became literate, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.
Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?
He was very kind. He was playful. He was good-natured, which arguably stands to reason. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.
“It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”
I knew he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.
Do you remember your experience as being positive?
You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.
The Line
OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?
At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative meant, but I understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission 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. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, reportedly the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.
