I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back.

The action icon is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. However, in the midst of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Role and That Line

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who poses as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. During the movie, the investigation plot functions as a simple backdrop for Arnold to film humorous interactions with kids. The most unforgettable involves a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted stands up 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 child star Miko Hughes. His career featured a character arc on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects in development. Additionally, he is a regular on the con circuit. Not long ago discussed his recollections from the filming of the classic 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 youngest of all the kids on set.

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

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

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was fun. He was nice, which I guess stands to reason. It would be strange 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 would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched 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 had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the coolest device, that funky old 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 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 fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all childhood recollections.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? 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 got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission 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. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. 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 had doubts, but she felt it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.