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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an action movie legend. Yet, in the midst of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. During the movie, the procedural element functions as a basic structure for Arnold to film humorous interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a child named Joseph, who unprompted rises and informs the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a character arc on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects on the horizon. He also is a regular on the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his memories from the production 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

Q: To begin, 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 can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

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

My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there less than five minutes, 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 the initial content 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 good-natured, which arguably makes sense. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was great to work with.

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

I understood he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate 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 kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. That 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 years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know 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 approval in this case because it was humorous.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't pure improvisation, 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 have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.