I Am the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.

The Austrian Oak is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, at the height of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this December.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. For much of the story, the investigation plot serves as a basic structure for the star to have charming interactions with kids. The most unforgettable belongs to a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and informs the actor, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career featured a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films on the horizon. He also is a regular on fan conventions. Recently recalled his memories from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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.

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

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

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was an open 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, 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 the initial content I was reading.

Do you have any recollection 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 unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I understood he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate 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 kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the coolest device, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

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

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big 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 humorous.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, 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 entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, I suppose 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, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.