🔗 Share this article I Am the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation. The action icon is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. But, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter. The Role and An Iconic Moment In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. For much of the movie, the crime storyline serves as a simple backdrop for Arnold to share adorable interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and declares the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.” The young actor was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a character arc on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. He also frequently attends the con circuit. Recently discussed his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later. Memories from the Set Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop? Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set. That's remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time? Yeah, a little bit. 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. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading. Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him? He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. 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 big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well. Do you remember your days on set as being positive? You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, 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 could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories. That Famous Quote OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words? At the time, I probably didn't know 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 comedic. “It was a difficult decision for her.” How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. 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 wasn't sure, but she felt it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.
The action icon is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. But, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter. The Role and An Iconic Moment In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. For much of the movie, the crime storyline serves as a simple backdrop for Arnold to share adorable interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and declares the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.” The young actor was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a character arc on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. He also frequently attends the con circuit. Recently discussed his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later. Memories from the Set Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop? Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set. That's remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time? Yeah, a little bit. 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. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading. Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him? He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. 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 big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well. Do you remember your days on set as being positive? You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, 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 could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories. That Famous Quote OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words? At the time, I probably didn't know 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 comedic. “It was a difficult decision for her.” How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. 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 wasn't sure, but she felt it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.