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

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. Yet, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who poses as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the procedural element functions as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to film humorous interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and states the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a character arc on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. He also engages with fans at the con circuit. He recently recalled his recollections from the production over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the smallest 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, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections.

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was very kind. He was playful. He was good-natured, which arguably makes sense. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was great to work with.

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

I was aware he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — 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 occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It eventually broke. I also was given a authentic coach's 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 amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, 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 really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the other children would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she felt it will probably be one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.