I Am the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who poses as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. For much of the film's runtime, the investigation plot serves as a simple backdrop for the star to have charming moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous involves a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and states the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career featured a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he frequently attends fan conventions. He recently discussed his recollections from the filming of the classic after all this time.

Behind the Scenes

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 remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

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

Do you recall how you got the part 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, enter the casting office, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines 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 take on him?

He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was great to work with.

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

I understood he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the hottest tech out there, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. 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 experience 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 the star himself, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid 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 really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given special permission in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she thought it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.