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

The action icon is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, at the height of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this winter.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. For much of the movie, the crime storyline acts as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to have charming moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout involves a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and informs the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a character arc on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies in development. Furthermore, he is a regular on the con circuit. Recently discussed his recollections from the production over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Question: Starting off, 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.

Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes 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 parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which I suppose stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.

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

I understood he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to 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 kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It wore out in time. I also have a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original 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 ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all childhood recollections.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. 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 some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.