I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this winter.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the movie, the crime storyline acts as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to have charming interactions with kids. The most unforgettable features a student named Joseph, who unprompted rises and states the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career featured a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the child stars and the haunting part of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films on the horizon. Additionally, he engages with fans at fan conventions. Not long ago recalled his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

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

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

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which arguably makes sense. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was fun to be around.

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

I was aware he was a big action star because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the coolest device, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also was given a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming 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, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember how it happened? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, 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 answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.