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

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this winter.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who masquerades as a elementary educator to catch a killer. For much of the story, the investigation plot serves as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to film humorous interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout involves a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and declares the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a character arc on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the character of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. He also engages with fans at fan conventions. Recently discussed his experiences from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Q: To begin, 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 have no memory from being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

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

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

My parents, primarily my mom would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was nice, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was great to work with.

“It would be strange if he was a dick 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 — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play 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 hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, 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 avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, 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 understood it was edgy 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 funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, I suppose 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, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she believed it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.