I Was the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this winter.

The Film and That Line

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the movie, the procedural element acts as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to share adorable scenes with children. Arguably the most famous features a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and informs the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he frequently attends fan conventions. Recently recalled his recollections from the production after all this time.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Q: To begin, 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, a little bit. They're brief images. They're like mental photographs.

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which I guess makes sense. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was fun to be around.

“It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. 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 incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the coolest device, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It eventually broke. I also was given a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's 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 became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, 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 toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was humorous.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.