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

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. But, at the height of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. Throughout the story, the procedural element serves as a basic structure for the star to share adorable scenes with children. The most unforgettable involves a student named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and states the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career featured a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. Furthermore, he engages with fans at the con circuit. Recently discussed his experiences 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: I believe I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I don't recall being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was nice, which I guess stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was great to work with.

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

I knew he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. 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 holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the must-have gadget, 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 finally gave out. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. Like, 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 brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the other children would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults 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 comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. 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 day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.