Arnold Schwarzenegger shocked the young cast of Kindergarten Cop with a surprise visit to their 30-year virtual reunion. The family comedy opened in theaters on December 21st, 1990 and it showed off a new side of the action star. This was a lot different from the action movies that made him a household name in the ’80s, like The Terminator and Commando. The world saw a new version of Schwarzenegger as he took on the role of L.A. cop John Kimble, who poses undercover as kindergarten teacher in a small Oregon town.
Christian Cousins (Dominic), Miko Hughes (Joseph), Krystle and Tiffany Mataras (Tina and Rina), Brian Wagner (William), and Adam Wylie (Larry), all got together to discuss Kindergarten Cop for its 30th anniversary. The cast can be seen having a good time in the video talking about their experiences on the set with Arnold Schwarzenegger and then he surprises everybody at around the 30-minute mark of the video. “That is the coolest surprise, I would have never expected this. It’s really good to hear you,” said Miko Hughes when Schwarzenegger popped up on the screen.
Arnold Schwarzenegger went on to tell the cast, “Without any doubt, it was the performance of you kids that really made this movie. That’s what made it endearing, that’s what made it successful, and people wanted to watch it over and over again.” The cast members, who were all supposed to be around the ages of 5 and 6 in the movie shared fond memories of working on the movie, though Miko Hughes doesn’t really have that great of a memory from working on it since he was only 3-years old at the time. Hughes’ Joseph character delivers one of the most memorable lines from Kindergarten Cop and the actor admits that he has never seen the movie all the way through, though he is well aware of the line about male and female genitals.
Kindergarten Cop was filmed right after Arnold Schwarzenegger’s then-wife, Maria Shriver, gave birth to their first daughter, Katherine Schwarzenegger. The actor likes to think of his time on set with the on-set kids as his “warm-up for my kids.” He continues, “By hanging out with you guys between the breaks and talking to you guys and all that, this movie really helped me become a better parent myself. It really helped me raise my kids.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger went on to discuss the animated Kindergarten Cop sequel, titled Superhero Kindergarten, that Stan Lee put into development before his death in 2018. It will feature all of the kids, but they’ll have superpowers this time around. It is set to come out in 2021. Before signing off from the reunion, Schwarzenegger offered up a real reunion party after the public health crisis goes away. “We’ll have it at my house, we’ll get together and have a party and get the gossip going!” he vows. “I want all the details about how you got here from 30 years ago. I’m proud of all of you, so keep up the good work.” You can check out the reunion above, thanks to the Yahoo Entertainment YouTube Channel. Arnold shows up around the 30-min mark.
