Throughout the ’80s, Arnold Schwarzenegger became one of the biggest figures, both literally and figuratively, in the world of action cinema, thanks to roles in films like Predator, The Terminator, and Conan the Barbarian, with the 1990 film Kindergarten Cop allowing him to show off more of his comedic chops, with the actor recently surprising the young cast members from the comedy during a recent Zoom reunion. In the decades since the film was released, young members of the cast have popped up in a variety of film and TV projects, but even they were shocked to see Schwarzenegger drop by the reunion, as his fame has only grown exponentially over the years. You can head to Yahoo to watch the surprise.
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The film sees Schwarzenegger playing detective John Kimble, who must go undercover as a kindergarten teacher in hopes of capturing a ruthless drug dealer. Kindergarten Cop was directed by Ivan Reitman, who previously allowed Schwarzenegger to show off his sillier side in Twins, which co-starred Danny DeVito.
“Without any doubt, it was the performance of you kids that really made this movie,” Schwarzenegger shared during the reunion. “That’s what made it endearing, that’s what made it successful, and people wanted to watch it over and over again.”
With the film’s release coinciding with the VHS boom of the ’90s, Kindergarten Cop became a staple of many households, resulting in a number of its pieces of dialogue becoming famous over the years. One of which, Schwarzenegger’s Kimble confirming, “It’s not a tumor,” was one that he knew would be iconic over the years, based solely on how much his pint-sized co-stars laughed at it while filming.
“There were certain lines that, because of my accent, the kids were laughing,” the actor recalled. “So I would just screaming, ‘It’s not a tumor, it’s not a tumor at all!’ and the kids would be laughing instead of being scared. Ivan told me, ‘If the kids are laughing at the way you sound, then I think the audience will laugh, too. And this is exactly what happened.”
Schwarzenegger also noted how helpful being surrounded by all the kids was for his personal life, as he had his first child with then-wife Maria Shriver only a few months before shooting, with the experience helping prepare him for what was to come.
“It was a warm-up for my kids,” Schwarzenegger pointed out. “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.”
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