I Was the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: An Interview.

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this December.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who poses as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. Throughout the movie, the investigation plot acts as a basic structure for the star to share adorable scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout features a child named Joseph, who unprompted rises and states the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the character of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he is a regular on popular culture events. Not long ago shared his recollections from the filming of the classic after all this time.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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

Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the youngest 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 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. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. 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 an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was very kind. He was playful. He was nice, which arguably makes sense. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

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

I understood he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I played 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 referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the other children would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I knew 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 hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. 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, I need time" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she thought it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.