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

The action icon is universally recognized as an action movie legend. But, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this December.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who poses as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. For much of the story, the procedural element functions as a basic structure for Arnold to share adorable moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a child named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and states the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career featured a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the haunting part of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films on the horizon. He also frequently attends fan conventions. He recently shared his memories from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.

Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

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

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

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. 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 a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a big action star because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us 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 bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

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, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, 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 have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.