The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. However, at the height of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this holiday season.
The Film and The Famous Scene
In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who masquerades as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the procedural element serves as a loose framework for the star to share adorable scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout involves a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted rises and declares the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”
That iconic child was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a notable part on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects on the horizon. Furthermore, he is a regular on fan conventions. Recently shared his experiences from the filming of the classic after all this time.
A Young Actor's Perspective
Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?
Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the youngest 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 picture memories.
Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?
My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading.
Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?
He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was nice, which I suppose stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.
“It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”
I was aware he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out 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 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 Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.
Do you remember your time filming as being positive?
You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater 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 new. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.
The Line
OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?
At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.
“She really wrestled with it.”
How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. 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, let me sleep on it" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it will probably be one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.
