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

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. Yet, in the midst of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this winter.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who poses as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. Throughout the movie, the investigation plot acts as a simple backdrop for the star to have charming moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous features a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and declares the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was played by child star Miko Hughes. His career included a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the child stars and the haunting part of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. Furthermore, he is a regular on the con circuit. Not long ago shared his recollections from the production over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

Q: To begin, 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.

That's remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

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

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

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was nice, which arguably isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I understood he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also have a authentic coach's whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?

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, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For instance, 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 just released. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. 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 thought it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.