Kindergarten Cop child actor left haunted by his most famous line despite box office success

At the tender age of four, Miko Hughes uttered quite a memorable sentence in Kindergarten Cop. And it's 'haunted' him ever since.

The child star, 40, bagged his first job when he was still in nappies and boasted a CV that would be envied by most adults when he was still a kid.

But while reflecting on his noteworthy role in the 1990 comedy alongside film legend Arnold Schwarzenegger more than three decades on, Miko revealed that having one of the most iconic lines in the flick came at a cost.

Miko recently sat down to discuss his incredible rise to fame at such a young age with fellow child actors Jordan Warkol and Blake Collins on their podcast, The Not So Little Rascals.

He explained that his mother hightailed it to Hollywood with him when he was still a tot, as although he couldn't walk at the time, she heard him spell a word while he was sat in his car seat and realised that her son would be a star.

As a child, he shared the screen with cinematic heroes such as Danny DeVito, Tom Hanks, and Bruce Willis - so as you can imagine, Miko had plenty of incredible anecdotes to share with Warkol and Collins.

He secured roles in a string of memorable movies such as Pet Sematary, Apollo 13 and Spawn, however, the star is arguably best known for his part in Kindergarten Cop due to one of his lines in the film.

The film follows Schwarzenegger, who is as an undercover cop, as he poses as a kindergarten teacher in a bid to investigate a student's dangerous dad.

At one point, Miko's character Joseph stands up and declares to his class: "Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina."

This cute moment left viewers in fits of laughter and helped a few youngsters gain a better understanding of anatomy - however, it proved to be quite the cross to bear for Miko when he was growing up.

He previously revealed that he doesn't exactly remember much of how this came about himself, but he's heard it second-hand from his parents.

In 2024, Miko told the Full House Rewind podcast: "They didn’t have a line for me, I didn’t have lines written. Some of it was kind of written as developed on set. It was a lot of ‘yes-and’ing.

"I think they just kinda got a feel for Arnold and the kids and the dynamic, who, what, where, and how they wanted to do everything.

"The story I’m told is that they came to my parents and said, 'They want him to say this line that’s kind of provocative'. My mom said she took a couple days, she’s like, 'This is kinda crazy, I dunno, is it good? Is it bad?'

"She thought, ‘That’s is gonna be the line that everyone remembers', and went for it. Now I’ll forever be known as the ‘Boys have a penis, girls have the vagina’ kid."

'I thought everyone would say it to make fun of me'

Miko can look back and laugh at this career-defining moment these days, but he didn't find being known for this very funny while he was growing up.

In the July interview with Warkol and Collins, the California-born actor explained he couldn't escape the legacy that Kindergarten Cop left him with.

"When I was a kid, that was the one I struggled with the most," Miko said of the line. "It's funny - as an adult, now I can look at it and laugh.

"It's a cute kid saying... I can own it. I think at the time, it kind of haunted me. My parents felt really bad. I'd go to the mall and 15 teenagers would all surround me - 'Say it, say it, say the line!'

"When you're a kid, you don't know how to navigate social situations anyway... that can be a lot. And I thought everyone would say it to make fun of me. That's what it felt like."

Kindergarten Cop fans couldn't believe that Miko was mobbed and mocked by teenagers for providing one of the most unforgettable moments in 90s cinema and expressed their sympathies on social media.

One person said: "Big hugs Miko. Sucks you went through that."

Another admirer wrote: "Nothing but infinite respect and admiration for the legendary Miko Hughes."

A third added: "By the time Miko was five-years-old, he was already a killer (Pet Sematary) and the boy that was obsessed with penis and vaginas (Kindergarten Cop). Tough break!"

A fourth commented: "Sorry you had to go through that dude. That's rough. Great movie but that's unfortunate."

And a fifth chimed in: "Miko carried a lot. Between Pet Sematary and Kindergarten Cop. Child actors don't get enough respect or support for their roles. They take on WAY too much WAY too young."

He lives a much quieter life these days in comparison to his childhood, but Miko is still passionate about film and recently returned to his horror roots while starring in a remake of the 1968 flick, Night of the Living Dead.