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

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who poses as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. During the story, the crime storyline acts as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable scenes with children. The most unforgettable features a child named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and states the stoic star, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects in development. Furthermore, he engages with fans at popular culture events. He recently recalled his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop 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 smallest of all the kids on set.

Wow, I can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections.

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

My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, 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 extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was fun to be around.

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

I was aware he was a huge celebrity because I was told, 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 just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the coolest device, that distinctive classic 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 have a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, 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 instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, 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 was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she believed it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.