I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an action movie legend. Yet, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who poses as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. During the film's runtime, the crime storyline acts as a basic structure for the star to film humorous moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout features a student named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and states the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films in development. He also engages with fans at popular culture events. He recently recalled his recollections from the filming of the classic over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Interviewer: First, 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 remarkable, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids 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 coach me on the dialogue and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was very kind. He was fun. He was pleasant, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.

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

I knew he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. 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 tense up and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the must-have gadget, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also have a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, reportedly 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, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she thought it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.