I Was the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an action movie legend. But, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who poses as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the crime storyline acts as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to share adorable moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a student named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and informs the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. He also is a regular on the con circuit. Recently recalled his recollections from the production 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

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

Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

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

Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

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

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors 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 feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which I guess stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I knew he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around 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 gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the coolest device, 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 eventually broke. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. 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 collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the other children would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.