I Am the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this December.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot acts as a simple backdrop for the star to film humorous scenes with children. Arguably the most famous belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted rises and states the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the character of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films on the horizon. Additionally, he engages with fans at the con circuit. Recently recalled his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.

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

Yeah, to a degree. 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 take me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content 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 good-natured, which arguably stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was great to work with.

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

I understood he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play 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 show his strength and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the hottest tech out there, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all childhood recollections.

That Famous Quote

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly someone in charge 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 need time" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she felt it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.