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

The action icon is universally recognized as an action movie legend. Yet, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who poses as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. During the movie, the investigation plot acts as a basic structure for the star to share adorable interactions with kids. The most unforgettable involves a student named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and declares the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career featured a notable part on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films on the horizon. Furthermore, he frequently attends popular culture events. He recently shared his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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

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

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

Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, 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 probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I guess stands to reason. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.

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

I was aware he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the coolest device, that funky old 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 have a genuine metal whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being positive?

You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the other children would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember how it happened? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking 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 humorous.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. 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 thought it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.