I'm Known As the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.

The Austrian Oak is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. Throughout the movie, the crime storyline serves as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to film humorous moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted rises and informs the actor, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was played by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he is a regular on fan conventions. Not long ago discussed his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

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

My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I suppose makes sense. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

“It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out 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 hang off of his arms. 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 coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also was given a real silver whistle. He had the coach 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 major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the legendary director, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, 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 new. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she thought it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.