I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: An Interview.

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Role and That Line

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the procedural element acts as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to film humorous interactions with kids. The most unforgettable features a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere announces and informs the actor, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace 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 continues to act today, with multiple films in development. Additionally, he frequently attends popular culture events. He recently recalled his experiences from the filming of the classic over three decades on.

Memories from the Set

Interviewer: First, 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 don't recall being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like visual recollections.

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 dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was pleasant, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

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

I knew he was a big action star because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength 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. It was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also was given a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?

You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys 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 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 got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines 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, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she felt it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.