I Am the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, during the peak of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this winter.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the film's runtime, the investigation plot acts as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous features a child named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and informs the stoic star, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career included a character arc on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies in development. Furthermore, he engages with fans at fan conventions. Not long ago recalled his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

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

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

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

My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was nice, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was great to work with.

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

I understood he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. 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, visiting Astoria, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

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

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of 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 humorous.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she felt it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.