I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. But, during the peak of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. Throughout the movie, the crime storyline functions as a loose framework for the star to film humorous scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a student named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and declares the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the character of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies in development. He also frequently attends popular culture events. Recently discussed his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

Memories from the Set

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 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 family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Sometimes 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's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue 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 take on him?

He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was nice, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.

“It would be strange if he was a dick 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 felt the importance — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, 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 hanging off. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to 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 coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

OK, that specific dialogue, 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 understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.