I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Look Back.

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an action movie legend. But, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who poses as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the crime storyline acts as a loose framework for Arnold to film humorous interactions with kids. The most unforgettable features a child named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and declares the actor, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films on the horizon. Furthermore, he frequently attends fan conventions. Not long ago shared his memories from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

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.

Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

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

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

My parents, primarily my mom would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. 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 feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was pleasant, which I guess isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I was aware he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us 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 Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. That was the hottest tech out there, 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 finally gave out. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater 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 big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

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

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative 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 funny.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.