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

The action icon is best known as an iconic tough guy. Yet, at the height of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. Throughout the film's runtime, the procedural element serves as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to film humorous moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous features a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and informs the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a notable part on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the character of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also is a regular on popular culture events. Not long ago recalled 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 youngest of all the kids on set.

Wow, I can't remember being four. Do you have any memories 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 parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and that's all. 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 take on him?

He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was great to work with.

“It'd be weird if he was unpleasant 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 not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It eventually broke. 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 days on set as being enjoyable?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, the production design, 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 pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys 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.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? 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 understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she felt it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.