I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Look Back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this December.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who masquerades as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. For much of the movie, the investigation plot functions as a loose framework for Arnold to film humorous interactions with kids. The most unforgettable involves a student named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and states the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. He also frequently attends the con circuit. He recently discussed his experiences from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I think 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 remember anything from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. 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 impression of him?

He was very kind. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I guess isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was great to work with.

“It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It eventually broke. I also was given a real silver 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 positive?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a huge film, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the other children would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of 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 an exception in this case because it was humorous.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, 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 didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.