I Was the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.

The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. Yet, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. For much of the movie, the investigation plot functions as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to film humorous scenes with children. Arguably the most famous features a child named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and declares the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the character of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films on the horizon. He also is a regular on fan conventions. Recently discussed his memories from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

Question: Starting off, 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 have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words 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 feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was fun. He was nice, which I suppose makes sense. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

“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 I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages 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 fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she believed it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.