I Am the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Look Back.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. However, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this December.

The Role and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who poses as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. Throughout the film's runtime, the investigation plot functions as a basic structure for Arnold to have charming interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout involves a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and states the actor, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a character arc on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the character of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies in development. He also engages with fans at popular culture events. Recently discussed his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

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

Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was good-natured, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.

“It would be strange if he was a dick 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 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 working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright 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 was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

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

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.