I Was the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. But, at the height of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. During the film's runtime, the crime storyline functions as a simple backdrop for Arnold to film humorous scenes with children. The most unforgettable features a child named Joseph, who unprompted announces and declares the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the child stars and the character of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects in development. He also frequently attends popular culture events. He recently shared his experiences from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

Interviewer: First, 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 impressive, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

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

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

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange 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 have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. He was working hard, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a authentic coach's whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. 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, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? 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 approval in this case because it was humorous.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. 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, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.