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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, in the midst of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who poses as a elementary educator to catch a killer. Throughout the film's runtime, the investigation plot acts as a loose framework for the star to have charming interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a student named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and informs the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. His career included a character arc on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects on the horizon. Additionally, he engages with fans at fan conventions. Not long ago discussed his recollections from the production over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

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 have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're brief images. They're like visual recollections.

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

My parents, primarily my mom would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was good-natured, which arguably isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I understood he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. He was working hard, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to 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 teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, 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 how it happened? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was humorous.

“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 whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she felt it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.