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

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. Yet, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this December.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who poses as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. During the film's runtime, the procedural element serves as a simple backdrop for Arnold to film humorous interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a student named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and states the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the character of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies in development. He also engages with fans at the con circuit. Not long ago shared his experiences from the production 35 years later.

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 most junior of all the kids on set.

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

Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.

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

My family, especially my mother would take 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, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

“It would have been odd 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 barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the hottest tech out there, that distinctive classic 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 wore out in time. I also was given a genuine metal whistle. He had the referee's 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 is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional 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 original Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly the filmmakers 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 day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.