I Was the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Look Back.

The action icon is best known as an iconic tough guy. Yet, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who poses as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. Throughout the movie, the procedural element acts as a basic structure for Arnold to share adorable moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous features a child named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and declares the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a character arc on Full House as the bully 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 a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. He also is a regular on the con circuit. He recently recalled his memories from the production over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

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

Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.

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

Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

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

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was playful. He was nice, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

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

I knew he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

OK, the penis and vagina line, 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 understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew 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 was conceived, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.