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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this December.

The Role and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. Throughout the film's runtime, the investigation plot serves as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to have charming moments with his young class. The most unforgettable belongs to a student named Joseph, who unprompted announces and states the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he is a regular on fan conventions. Not long ago shared his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.

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

Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line 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 playful. He was pleasant, which arguably makes sense. It'd be weird if he was mean 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 a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. He was working hard, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright 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 wore out in time. I also was given a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being positive?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. 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 the star himself, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was humorous.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines 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, presumably the filmmakers 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, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.