I'm Known As the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. But, during the peak of his star power in the late 20th century, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this December.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who poses as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. During the movie, the crime storyline acts as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous involves a child named Joseph, who unprompted announces and states the actor, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career featured a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects in development. He also is a regular on the con circuit. Not long ago shared his experiences from the production 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.

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

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

Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was fun. He was nice, which arguably makes sense. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was great to work with.

“It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the must-have gadget, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages 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 major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, 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 new. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, 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 the context? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she felt it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.