I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: An Interview.

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. However, at the height of his star power in the late 20th century, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. For much of the movie, the procedural element functions as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to have charming interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted rises and informs the actor, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career included a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films on the horizon. Furthermore, he is a regular on the con circuit. Not long ago discussed his memories from the production 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.

That's remarkable, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're brief images. They're like visual recollections.

Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines 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 extremely gentle. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I suppose makes sense. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.

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

I knew he was a big action 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 really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. That 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 wore out in time. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] 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 avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. I understood it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.