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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Story and That Line

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. Throughout the story, the procedural element functions as a loose framework for Arnold to film humorous interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous involves a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted announces and states the actor, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he is a regular on popular culture events. He recently recalled his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

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 youngest of all the kids on set.

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

Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was pleasant, which I guess makes sense. It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I understood 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 simply playful and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the coolest device, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. 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 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, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, 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 really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, 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, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she felt it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.