I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an action movie legend. But, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who poses as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. Throughout the film's runtime, the procedural element acts as a basic structure for Arnold to have charming scenes with children. Arguably the most famous belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and declares the actor, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the character of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he frequently attends the con circuit. Not long ago discussed his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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

Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

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

My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I suppose makes sense. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I was aware he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies 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 major production, 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, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, 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 anything about it? 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 caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" 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 her instinct was correct.