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

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. But, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Role and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who poses as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot serves as a basic structure for Arnold to share adorable interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout features a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and declares the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career featured a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies in development. Additionally, he frequently attends fan conventions. He recently recalled his experiences from the filming of the classic after all this time.

Memories from the Set

Interviewer: First, 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 can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections.

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was playful. He was nice, which I suppose makes sense. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

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

I understood he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also was given a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, 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, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

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

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she felt it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.