I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Candid Conversation.

The Austrian Oak is best known as an iconic tough guy. However, during the peak of his star power in the late 20th century, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who poses as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. During the movie, the investigation plot functions as a simple backdrop for Arnold to film humorous interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout features a student named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and informs the stoic star, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects in development. He also frequently attends fan conventions. Recently recalled his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

Interviewer: First, 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.

That's remarkable, I have no memory from being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would feed me the lines and then, once I learned to read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I guess stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was great to work with.

“It would have been odd if he was mean 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 never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the coolest device, 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 was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?

You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, 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 selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo 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 approval in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. 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 day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she thought it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.