Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. But, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this December.
The Story and That Line
In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who masquerades as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. During the story, the crime storyline serves as a simple backdrop for Arnold to have charming scenes with children. Arguably the most famous features a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and states the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”
The boy behind the line was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. His career included a notable part on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects on the horizon. He also is a regular on popular culture events. He recently discussed his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.
Memories from the Set
Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?
Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.
That's impressive, I can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?
Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.
Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?
My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading.
Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your take on 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 a dick 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 unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”
I knew he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, 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 holding on. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. That was the coolest device, 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 eventually broke. I also received 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 positive?
You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.
The Line
OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember how it happened? Did you grasp the meaning?
At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I was aware 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 originated, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting 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 didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she felt it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.
