I Was the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Candid Conversation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who poses as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot acts as a loose framework for Arnold to have charming scenes with children. Arguably the most famous features a child named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and states the actor, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

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 schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects in development. Additionally, he frequently attends popular culture events. He recently shared his recollections from the filming of the classic after all this time.

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 most junior of all the kids on set.

Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was playful. He was nice, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I knew he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. That was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?

You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand new. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid 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 quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember how it happened? 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 was aware it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, 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 say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.