I Was the Iconic Line Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Candid Conversation.

The action icon is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. However, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this December.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who poses as a elementary educator to catch a killer. For much of the film's runtime, the investigation plot serves as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to film humorous interactions with kids. The most unforgettable belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and declares the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies in development. He also is a regular on fan conventions. Not long ago recalled his recollections 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 youngest of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

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

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. 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 any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which I guess stands to reason. It would have been odd 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 unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. 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 Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, 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 legendary director, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand new. That was the coolest toy, 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 could do it, and I was really proud of that. 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 probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was humorous.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably someone in charge 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, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.