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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. However, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this December.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. During the movie, the investigation plot serves as a basic structure for the star to have charming moments with his young class. The most unforgettable belongs to a child named Joseph, who unprompted rises and states the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career featured a character arc on Full House as the bully to the child stars 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 multiple films in development. Furthermore, he engages with fans at popular culture events. He recently discussed his recollections from the production 35 years later.

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 most junior of all the kids on set.

Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

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

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

My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part 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 a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which I guess isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. 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 my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. That was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I used to rock out 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 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 a wonderful time, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I was aware 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 came about, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she believed it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.