I Was the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Candid Conversation.

The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. However, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the movie, the investigation plot serves as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to film humorous scenes with children. The most unforgettable features a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and declares the actor, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the child stars and the character of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. Additionally, he is a regular on the con circuit. Recently discussed his experiences from the filming of the classic after all this time.

Behind the Scenes

Interviewer: First, 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.

That's impressive, I don't recall being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

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

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

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was nice, which I suppose makes sense. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

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

I was aware he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the hottest tech out there, 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 genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, 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 new. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

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 taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she believed it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.