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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. But, at the height of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Story and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who masquerades as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. Throughout the story, the investigation plot acts as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous belongs to a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and declares the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. He also is a regular on popular culture events. He recently discussed his recollections from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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

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

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

Yeah, a little bit. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which I suppose makes sense. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

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

I understood he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the coolest device, 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 was given a real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, 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 Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

That Famous Quote

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember how it happened? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, I suppose it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. 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. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she thought it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.