I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.

The action icon is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. Yet, at the height of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Film and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. For much of the film's runtime, the crime storyline serves as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to film humorous moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous belongs to a student named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and declares the actor, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. He also is a regular on the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

Q: To begin, 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 can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections.

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

My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff 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 pleasant, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I understood he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — 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 busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. 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 years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. I also was given a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?

You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner 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 original Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, 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 understand the words?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, I suppose 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 paused. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.