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

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this winter.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who poses as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. Throughout the story, the investigation plot functions as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to film humorous scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a child named Joseph, who unprompted announces and informs the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he is a regular on fan conventions. He recently shared his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

Memories from the Set

Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.

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

Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like mental photographs.

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

My mother, mainly would accompany 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 less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was pleasant, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was great to work with.

“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 — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten 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 dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she felt it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.