I Am the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: An Interview.

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an action movie legend. However, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who poses as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the story, the investigation plot functions as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to film humorous interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a child named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and declares the actor, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was played by child star Miko Hughes. His career featured a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films in development. Additionally, he engages with fans at fan conventions. Not long ago recalled his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

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 remarkable, I can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.

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

My parents, primarily my mom 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 for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines 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 take on him?

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was pleasant, which arguably stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

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

I knew he was a big action star because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. 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 finally gave out. I also was given a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, 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 proficient. I was the youngest and some of the other children would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

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 was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it was conceived, according to family lore, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. 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 short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she felt it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.