I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Look Back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this winter.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. During the story, the crime storyline acts as a simple backdrop for the star to film humorous moments with his young class. The most unforgettable involves a student named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and informs the actor, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the haunting part of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects in development. He also frequently attends popular culture events. He recently discussed his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

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

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

Wow, I can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was nice, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was great to work with.

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

I knew he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — 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 sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a authentic coach's 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 interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, 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, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand 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 pass certain levels on games because I knew how, 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 the context? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it was conceived, according to family lore, 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 was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose it's either the director or producers 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 day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.