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

The Austrian Oak is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, in the midst of his star power in the late 20th century, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. During the movie, the crime storyline functions as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to share adorable scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout features a student named Joseph, who unprompted rises and informs the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a notable part on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the character of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he is a regular on fan conventions. Recently recalled his experiences from the production after all this time.

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 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 flashes. 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. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I suppose makes sense. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was fun to be around.

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

I was aware he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It wore out in time. I also was given a real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, 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, the legendary director, the location shoot, 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 meat from the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, reportedly 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 answer immediately. 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 felt it will probably be one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.