I Am the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. However, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this winter.

The Story and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. Throughout the movie, the investigation plot acts as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to share adorable scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a child named Joseph, who unprompted rises and declares the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career featured a notable part on Full House as the bully 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 several projects on the horizon. He also engages with fans at fan conventions. Recently shared his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

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 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, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids 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 help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I was aware he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. It 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 finally gave out. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

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

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, reportedly the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she felt it will probably be one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.