I Was the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an action movie legend. But, in the midst of his star power in the late 20th century, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Role and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the movie, the procedural element serves as a simple backdrop for Arnold to share adorable scenes with children. Arguably the most famous features a student named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and informs the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was played by child star Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the child stars and the character of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he engages with fans at the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his experiences from the production 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

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

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I don't recall being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.

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

My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was fun. He was nice, which arguably stands to reason. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was fun to be around.

“It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a big action star because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played 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 referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being positive?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater 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 first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the other children 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 childhood recollections.

The Infamous Moment

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she believed it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.