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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. Yet, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who masquerades as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. Throughout the movie, the procedural element acts as a loose framework for the star to share adorable interactions with kids. The most unforgettable involves a child named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and declares the actor, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects on the horizon. Furthermore, he is a regular on fan conventions. Recently shared his memories 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: My understanding is 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 remember anything from that time?

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

Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which I suppose makes sense. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I knew he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. That was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It wore out in time. I also was given a real silver whistle. He had the teacher'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 a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I likely didn't understand 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 wasn't supposed to do, but I was given special permission in this case because it was humorous.

“My mom thought hard about 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 entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.