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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an iconic tough guy. However, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who masquerades as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. Throughout the movie, the investigation plot acts as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to share adorable moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous involves a student named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and informs the actor, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects in development. Furthermore, he is a regular on fan conventions. Not long ago shared his experiences from the filming of the classic after all this time.

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 most junior of all the kids on set.

That's remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you remember anything 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 mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was playful. He was pleasant, 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 positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

“It would have been odd if he was unpleasant 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 barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. That was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have 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 such an amazing experience, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.

“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 established early on, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose someone in charge 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, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.