I Am the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: An Interview.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. But, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this winter.

The Film and That Line

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who poses as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the story, the crime storyline serves as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable moments with his young class. The most unforgettable features a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and declares the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies in development. He also is a regular on popular culture events. Not long ago recalled his recollections from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

That's remarkable, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I knew he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. 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 holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright 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 received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, 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 meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I understood it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she felt it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.