I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. However, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this winter.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who masquerades as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. Throughout the story, the procedural element functions as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to have charming moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous features a child named Joseph, who unprompted announces and informs the stoic star, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a recurring role 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 continues to act today, with multiple films in development. Furthermore, he frequently attends popular culture events. Not long ago shared his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

Memories from the Set

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

Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.

That's remarkable, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was playful. He was pleasant, which arguably makes sense. It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

“It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. That was the coolest device, that funky old 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 real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, 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 pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember how it happened? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. 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 the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she thought it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.