🔗 Share this article I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back. The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. Yet, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this holiday season. The Role and The Famous Scene In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who masquerades as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. Throughout the movie, the procedural element serves as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to have charming scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted announces and declares the stoic star, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.” The young actor was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the character of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films in development. Furthermore, he engages with fans at the con circuit. He recently recalled his recollections from the filming of the classic over three decades on. Behind the Scenes Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop? Miko Hughes: My understanding is 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 flashes. They're like mental photographs. Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop? My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, 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 very kind. He was enjoyable. 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 likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was fun to be around. “It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.” I understood he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It wore out in time. I also have a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well. Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable? You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children 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 youthful anecdotes. That Famous Quote OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words? At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic. “She really wrestled with it.” How it came about, based on what I was told, 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 necessarily improv, 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 didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.
The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. Yet, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this holiday season. The Role and The Famous Scene In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who masquerades as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. Throughout the movie, the procedural element serves as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to have charming scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted announces and declares the stoic star, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.” The young actor was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the character of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films in development. Furthermore, he engages with fans at the con circuit. He recently recalled his recollections from the filming of the classic over three decades on. Behind the Scenes Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop? Miko Hughes: My understanding is 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 flashes. They're like mental photographs. Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop? My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, 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 very kind. He was enjoyable. 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 likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was fun to be around. “It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.” I understood he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It wore out in time. I also have a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well. Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable? You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children 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 youthful anecdotes. That Famous Quote OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words? At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic. “She really wrestled with it.” How it came about, based on what I was told, 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 necessarily improv, 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 didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.