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

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, at the height of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this winter.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who goes undercover as a elementary educator to catch a killer. Throughout the film's runtime, the investigation plot functions as a loose framework for the star to share adorable interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout involves a student named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and informs the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the child stars and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films in development. He also is a regular on fan conventions. Recently shared his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

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

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

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

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

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

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Frequently 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 briefly, 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 an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was playful. He was nice, which arguably isn't too surprising. It'd be weird 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 mean to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched 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 had time. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the hottest tech out there, 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 wore out in time. 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 enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she thought it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.