I Am the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Look Back.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this winter.

The Film and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who poses as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. Throughout the story, the procedural element functions as a basic structure for the star to share adorable interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous belongs to a student named Joseph, who unprompted announces and states the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a character arc on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the character of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films on the horizon. He also is a regular on the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

Behind the Scenes

Interviewer: First, 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.

Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was a dick 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 would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it was conceived, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.