I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Candid Conversation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who masquerades as a elementary educator to catch a killer. For much of the movie, the crime storyline functions as a loose framework for Arnold to share adorable interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous involves a child named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and states the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career featured a character arc on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the character of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he frequently attends popular culture events. Recently shared his recollections from the production 35 years later.

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

Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like mental photographs.

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

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which I guess stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant 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 a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received 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 became a phenomenon. It was a huge film, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I knew 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 came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. 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.