I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. Yet, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who masquerades as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. During the film's runtime, the procedural element serves as a basic structure for Arnold to have charming scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere announces and states the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career included a character arc on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films in development. Furthermore, he engages with fans at popular culture events. Recently shared his memories from the production 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections.

Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which I suppose stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

“It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the must-have gadget, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand new. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.