I Was the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back.

The action icon is best known as an iconic tough guy. However, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this winter.

The Story and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. Throughout the film's runtime, the crime storyline acts as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to share adorable interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a student named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and informs the actor, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career included a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects on the horizon. Furthermore, he frequently attends fan conventions. Not long ago discussed his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

That's remarkable, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

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

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

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would feed me the lines and then, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. 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'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. That 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 received 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 fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember how it happened? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was humorous.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, I suppose the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she thought it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.