I Am the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Candid Conversation.

The Austrian Oak is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, at the height of his star power in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Role and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. For much of the film's runtime, the procedural element acts as a loose framework for Arnold to share adorable interactions with kids. The most unforgettable involves a child named Joseph, who unprompted rises and states the actor, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films on the horizon. He also is a regular on popular culture events. Recently shared his experiences from the filming of the classic after all this time.

Behind the Scenes

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

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

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

Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue 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 feeling about him?

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was good-natured, which I guess makes sense. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was fun to be around.

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

I was aware he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the coolest device, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It eventually broke. I also have a genuine metal whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

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 realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, I suppose 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 a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.