I Am the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an action movie legend. However, in the midst of his star power in the late 20th century, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Role and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who masquerades as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the crime storyline serves as a simple backdrop for Arnold to have charming interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout features a child named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and declares the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a character arc on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies in development. Additionally, he engages with fans at popular culture events. He recently recalled his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

Memories from the Set

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.

Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast 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 just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was very kind. He was fun. He was pleasant, which I suppose makes sense. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.

“It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — 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 sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright 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 received a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, I suppose it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she thought it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.