I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. But, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Role and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who masquerades as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. For much of the story, the crime storyline acts as a simple backdrop for the star to have charming scenes with children. Arguably the most famous features a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and states the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. His career included a character arc on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the pivotal role 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 in development. Furthermore, he is a regular on fan conventions. Recently shared his experiences from the production 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

Q: To begin, 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 impressive, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, 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 incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which I guess makes sense. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was fun to be around.

“It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, 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 simply playful and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a huge film, and it was such an amazing experience, 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, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children 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, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, I suppose it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.