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

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Film and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. For much of the movie, the procedural element functions as a loose framework for Arnold to share adorable interactions with kids. The most unforgettable involves a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and declares the actor, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career included a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the character of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films on the horizon. Additionally, he frequently attends popular culture events. He recently recalled 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: My understanding is I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

That's remarkable, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

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

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

My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was good-natured, 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 a joy to have on set.

“It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining 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 flex and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It wore out in time. I also have a authentic coach's whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, 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, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember how it happened? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it was conceived, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.