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

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. But, at the height of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this winter.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who poses as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. For much of the movie, the crime storyline 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 announces and states the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films on the horizon. Furthermore, he frequently attends popular culture events. He recently discussed his memories from the production after all this time.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.

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

Yeah, to a degree. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother 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 just have to wait, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was nice, which I guess makes sense. It would have been odd 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'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was working hard, 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 dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being positive?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand new. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

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 made adults laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.