I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. Yet, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Role and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a elementary educator to catch a killer. Throughout the story, the investigation plot functions as a basic structure for the star to have charming interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous belongs to a child named Joseph, who unprompted announces and declares the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films on the horizon. He also engages with fans at fan conventions. Recently shared his experiences from the filming of the classic after all this time.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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.

That's remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would bring 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 less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.

“It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a huge celebrity because I was told, 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 had time. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength 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 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 finally gave out. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. 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.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, I suppose the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.