I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an action movie legend. However, in the midst of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this December.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the movie, the investigation plot functions as a basic structure for Arnold to share adorable interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous belongs to a student named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and informs the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the haunting part of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he engages with fans at popular culture events. Not long ago discussed his recollections from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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

Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

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

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

My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content 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 arguably stands to reason. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was fun to be around.

“It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage 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 gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the must-have gadget, 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 eventually broke. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being positive?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she felt it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.