I Am the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Candid Conversation.

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. Yet, during the peak of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this winter.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. Throughout the movie, the procedural element serves as a loose framework for the star to share adorable moments with his young class. The most unforgettable features a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere announces and declares the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects on the horizon. He also engages with fans at fan conventions. He recently discussed his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

Memories from the Set

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

Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was nice, which I guess makes sense. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.

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

I was aware he was a big action star because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the must-have gadget, that funky old 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 was given a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, 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 coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

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

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.