I Was the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an action movie legend. But, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this winter.

The Story and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. During the story, the procedural element serves as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous involves a student named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and states the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a notable part on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the character of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects on the horizon. Additionally, he engages with fans at popular culture events. He recently recalled his experiences from the production 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 youngest of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I can't remember being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would accompany 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, be seen, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was nice, which arguably isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. 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 major movie star because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the must-have gadget, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also was given a real silver 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 funny, that movie was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it was conceived, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, reportedly 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 answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she felt it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.