I Am the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Candid Conversation.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this December.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who poses as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. For much of the story, the crime storyline functions as a simple backdrop for Arnold to have charming interactions with kids. The most unforgettable involves a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and states the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was brought to life 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 haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. He also engages with fans at the con circuit. Recently shared his experiences 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 believe I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.

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

Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which I guess isn't too surprising. 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 great to work with.

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

I knew he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the hottest tech out there, that funky old 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 have a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices 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 Infamous Moment

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. 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 believed it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.