I Was the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Candid Conversation.

The Austrian Oak is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who poses as a elementary educator to catch a killer. During the story, the procedural element acts as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to share adorable moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout involves a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and declares the actor, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects in development. Furthermore, he engages with fans at fan conventions. Recently recalled his recollections from the filming of the classic after all this time.

Behind the Scenes

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 remember anything from that time?

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

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there briefly, read a small part 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 any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was pleasant, which I guess stands to reason. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

“It would be strange if he was unpleasant 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 really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, 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 dangling there. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the coolest device, 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 was given a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. 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 working with Arnold, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

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

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, 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 her instinct was correct.