I'm Known As the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

The action icon is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. But, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who masquerades as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the movie, the investigation plot serves as a basic structure for Arnold to share adorable interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous involves a child named Joseph, who unprompted announces and informs the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects in development. Furthermore, he is a regular on the con circuit. Not long ago discussed his memories 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: My understanding is I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.

Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, 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, once I learned to read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was pleasant, which arguably isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

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

I was aware he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright 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 genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being positive?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. 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, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?

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 was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, reportedly the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she thought it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.