I Am the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back.

The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. Yet, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this December.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who masquerades as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. For much of the film's runtime, the procedural element acts as a basic structure for the star to have charming scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout involves a student named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and declares the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career included a notable part on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the character of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films in development. Furthermore, he engages with fans at popular culture events. Recently shared his memories from the production after all this time.

Behind the Scenes

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

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

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

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

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

My family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would feed me the lines and then, once I learned to read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was nice, which I guess makes sense. It would have been odd 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'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was working hard, 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 dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. That 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 a long time on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a authentic coach's 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 amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

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

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, reportedly someone in charge 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 answer immediately. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it will probably be one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.