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

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. However, at the height of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. During the story, the procedural element serves as a loose framework for the star to have charming scenes with children. The most unforgettable involves a child named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and states the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career featured a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the pivotal role of the child who returns 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 engages with fans at the con circuit. He recently shared his experiences from the filming of the classic after all this time.

Behind the Scenes

Q: To begin, 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 don't recall being four. Do you remember anything 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 mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was pleasant, which arguably isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was great to work with.

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

I knew he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, 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 hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It wore out in time. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, 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 finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the other children would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

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

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.