I Am the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. Yet, in the midst of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who masquerades as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot serves as a simple backdrop for the star to have charming moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous involves a student named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and declares the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was played by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the character of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects in development. Furthermore, he is a regular on the con circuit. He recently recalled his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

Memories from the Set

Q: To begin, 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 impressive, I have no memory from being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content 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 arguably stands to reason. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.

“It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — 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 occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, being on a professional set, 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 pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember how it happened? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I likely didn't understand 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 wasn't supposed to do, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she felt it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.