The Austrian Oak is best known as an action movie legend. But, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.
In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. For much of the film's runtime, the crime storyline functions as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to have charming interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous involves a child named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and declares the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”
That iconic child was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a notable part on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he frequently attends the con circuit. Not long ago shared his recollections from the production after all this time.
Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?
Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.
That's remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you remember anything from that time?
Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.
Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?
My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Often it was an open 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, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. 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 feeling about him?
He was very kind. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I suppose makes sense. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.
“It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”
I knew he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the hottest tech out there, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.
Do you remember your experience as being fun?
You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the legendary director, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided 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 pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.
OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?
At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given special permission in this case because it was humorous.
“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 entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.
