I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back.

The action icon is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this December.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who poses as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. Throughout the movie, the investigation plot acts as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to film humorous scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout involves a student named Joseph, who unprompted rises and declares the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a character arc on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the child stars and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he engages with fans at the con circuit. He recently shared his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

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

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

That's remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

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

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

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could 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 very kind. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I guess isn't too surprising. It would be strange 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 be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also have a genuine metal whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, 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 selective diner at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was new. 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 beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it was conceived, according to family lore, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly it's either the director or producers 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 answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she thought it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.