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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an action movie legend. Yet, in the midst of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who poses as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. During the movie, the crime storyline acts as a basic structure for Arnold to have charming interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout features a child named Joseph, who unprompted announces and states the actor, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films on the horizon. Furthermore, he engages with fans at the con circuit. He recently recalled his recollections from the production over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Question: Starting off, 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 can't remember being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would bring 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, read a small part they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I suppose 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 great to work with.

“It would be strange if he was a dick 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 never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the hottest tech out there, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being positive?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set 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 paused. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it will probably be one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.