I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Candid Conversation.

The action icon is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. But, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. During the film's runtime, the procedural element serves as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to have charming moments with his young class. The most unforgettable belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and informs the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the child who returns 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 fan conventions. Recently shared his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Interviewer: First, 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.

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

Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.

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

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which arguably stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.

“It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the must-have gadget, 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 finally gave out. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, 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, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater 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 coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting 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 need time" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she felt it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.