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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. However, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Film and That Line

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who masquerades as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the procedural element acts as a basic structure for the star to film humorous scenes with children. Arguably the most famous features a student named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and declares the stoic star, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. He also frequently attends popular culture events. He recently discussed his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

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 youngest of all the kids on set.

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

Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.

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

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, 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, as soon as I could read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

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

“It would be strange if he was mean 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 sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater 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 big craze, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys 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.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?

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 knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she believed it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.