I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, in the midst of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot acts as a loose framework for the star to share adorable scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout involves a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and informs the actor, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career featured a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the character of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects on the horizon. Additionally, he is a regular on fan conventions. Recently discussed his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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.

Wow, I can't remember 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 were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there briefly, 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 probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which I suppose makes sense. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was fun to be around.

“It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the hottest tech out there, 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 finally gave out. I also was given a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being positive?

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, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults 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 funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably the filmmakers 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 agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she felt it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.