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

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an action movie legend. But, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who masquerades as a elementary educator to catch a killer. For much of the story, the investigation plot serves as a loose framework for the star to have charming scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and states the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was played by child star Miko Hughes. His career featured a character arc on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the haunting part 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. Additionally, he engages with fans at the con circuit. He recently shared his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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

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

Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're brief images. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, 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 incredibly nice. He was playful. He was good-natured, which I suppose makes sense. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I knew he was a big action star because my family informed 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 merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the must-have gadget, that funky old 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 eventually broke. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was humorous.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, 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 kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.