🔗 Share this article I Am the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation. The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. Yet, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December. The Story and That Line In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who poses as a elementary educator to catch a killer. For much of the movie, the crime storyline acts as a basic structure for Arnold to film humorous interactions with kids. The most unforgettable features a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and declares the actor, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.” The boy behind the line was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the character of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also engages with fans at the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his recollections from the production 35 years later. 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. That's remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time? Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs. Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop? My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was some of the first material I was reading. Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him? He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was pleasant, which arguably makes sense. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was great to work with. “It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.” I was aware he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out 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 hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the coolest device, 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 real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well. Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable? You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, the production design, 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 pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories. The Line OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you know what you were saying? At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny. “My mom thought hard about it.” How it came about, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines 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 the filmmakers 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, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.
The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. Yet, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December. The Story and That Line In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who poses as a elementary educator to catch a killer. For much of the movie, the crime storyline acts as a basic structure for Arnold to film humorous interactions with kids. The most unforgettable features a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and declares the actor, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.” The boy behind the line was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the character of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also engages with fans at the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his recollections from the production 35 years later. 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. That's remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time? Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs. Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop? My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was some of the first material I was reading. Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him? He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was pleasant, which arguably makes sense. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was great to work with. “It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.” I was aware he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out 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 hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the coolest device, 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 real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well. Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable? You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, the production design, 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 pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories. The Line OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you know what you were saying? At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny. “My mom thought hard about it.” How it came about, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines 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 the filmmakers 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, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.