🔗 Share this article I Was the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back. The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. Yet, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this holiday season. The Story and That Line In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. During the story, the investigation plot acts as a loose framework for Arnold to share adorable moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout features a student named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and declares the actor, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.” That iconic child was played by child star Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a character arc on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films on the horizon. Additionally, he engages with fans at the con circuit. Recently discussed his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time. Behind the Scenes Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop? Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set. Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you have any memories from that time? Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like mental photographs. Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop? My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, 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 extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which I guess isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was fun to be around. “It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.” I was aware he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the must-have gadget, 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 wore out in time. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well. Do you remember your days on set as being positive? You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, being on a professional set, 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 pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories. 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 shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was humorous. “My mom thought hard about it.” How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.
The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. Yet, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this holiday season. The Story and That Line In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. During the story, the investigation plot acts as a loose framework for Arnold to share adorable moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout features a student named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and declares the actor, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.” That iconic child was played by child star Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a character arc on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films on the horizon. Additionally, he engages with fans at the con circuit. Recently discussed his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time. Behind the Scenes Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop? Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set. Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you have any memories from that time? Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like mental photographs. Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop? My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, 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 extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which I guess isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was fun to be around. “It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.” I was aware he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the must-have gadget, 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 wore out in time. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well. Do you remember your days on set as being positive? You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, being on a professional set, 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 pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories. 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 shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was humorous. “My mom thought hard about it.” How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.