I Was the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. However, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who poses as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. During the movie, the crime storyline serves as a simple backdrop for Arnold to film humorous interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous features a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and informs the stoic star, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the character of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films on the horizon. Additionally, he frequently attends fan conventions. Recently shared his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, 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, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was good-natured, which I suppose makes sense. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was fun to be around.

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

I understood he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd tense up 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 a major status symbol. It was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

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, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, 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 meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?

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 shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was humorous.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.