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

The action icon is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. But, in the midst of his star power in the late 20th century, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who poses as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. Throughout the movie, the procedural element acts as a basic structure for the star to film humorous interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous belongs to a child named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and states the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the character of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films in development. Additionally, he engages with fans at popular culture events. He recently recalled his recollections from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Q: To begin, 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.

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 bring me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little 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 probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was fun. He was nice, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was great to work with.

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

I understood he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up 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 like an iPhone. That was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It finally gave out. I also was given a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being positive?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, 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 legendary director, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, I suppose it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she believed it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.