I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. However, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this December.

The Story and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. Throughout the film's runtime, the investigation plot serves as a loose framework for the star to have charming moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a child named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and informs the actor, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a notable part on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. He also is a regular on the con circuit. Not long ago shared his experiences from the production after all this time.

Memories from the Set

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

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

That's remarkable, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections.

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

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, when I became literate, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was nice, which I guess stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

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

I knew he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a genuine metal whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. 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 collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater 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 just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, according to family lore, 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 pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, reportedly 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, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it will probably be one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.