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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. During the film's runtime, the procedural element serves as a simple backdrop for Arnold to share adorable interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous involves a student named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and states the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a notable part on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the child who returns 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 the con circuit. He recently shared his recollections from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

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 youngest of all the kids on set.

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

Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections.

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

My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words 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 extremely gentle. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I guess isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was great to work with.

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

I knew he was a major movie 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 merely entertaining 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 cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the hottest tech out there, that funky old 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 have a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach 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 was this cultural thing. 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, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, the production design, 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 pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly it's either the director or producers 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 agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it will probably be one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.