🔗 Share this article I'm Known As the Iconic Line Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Look Back. The action icon is universally recognized as an action movie legend. But, at the height of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this winter. The Role and That Line In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who poses as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. During the movie, the investigation plot serves as a basic structure for the star to film humorous interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous features a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and informs the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.” The boy behind the line was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also frequently attends fan conventions. Recently discussed his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time. Behind the Scenes Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop? Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set. Wow, I can't remember being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time? Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like picture memories. Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop? My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines 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 extremely gentle. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was a joy to have on set. “It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.” I knew he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well. Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable? You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, 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 legendary director, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes. That Famous Quote OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning? At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo 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 humorous. “She really wrestled with it.” How it originated, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. 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 worked on it while filming and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she believed it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.
The action icon is universally recognized as an action movie legend. But, at the height of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this winter. The Role and That Line In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who poses as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. During the movie, the investigation plot serves as a basic structure for the star to film humorous interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous features a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and informs the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.” The boy behind the line was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also frequently attends fan conventions. Recently discussed his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time. Behind the Scenes Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop? Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set. Wow, I can't remember being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time? Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like picture memories. Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop? My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines 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 extremely gentle. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was a joy to have on set. “It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.” I knew he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well. Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable? You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, 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 legendary director, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes. That Famous Quote OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning? At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo 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 humorous. “She really wrestled with it.” How it originated, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. 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 worked on it while filming and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she believed it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.