The action icon is universally recognized as an action movie legend. However, in the midst of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.
The Role and An Iconic Moment
In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who masquerades as a elementary educator to catch a killer. Throughout the movie, the investigation plot functions as a loose framework for the star to film humorous interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous features a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and informs the actor, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”
The young actor was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a notable part on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects on the horizon. Additionally, he frequently attends fan conventions. He recently recalled 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: My understanding is I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.
Wow, I can't remember being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?
Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.
Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?
My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Sometimes 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 less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content 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 guess makes sense. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.
“It'd be weird 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 not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It finally gave out. I also was given a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.
Do you remember your time filming as being positive?
You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a huge film, 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, traveling to Oregon, seeing the 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 toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, 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 understand the words?
At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.
“My mom thought hard about it.”
How it came about, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.
