I Am the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. Yet, at the height of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this December.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who masquerades as a elementary educator to catch a killer. Throughout the story, the crime storyline acts as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to share adorable moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and informs the actor, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he frequently attends popular culture events. Recently recalled his recollections from the production 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I don't recall being four. Do you have any memories 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 family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. 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 an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I guess isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was a dick 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 I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out 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 tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the hottest tech out there, that distinctive classic 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 teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable?

You know, it's amusing, 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 the star himself, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like 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 smallest kid 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 really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking 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 an exception in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.