I'm Known As the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: An Interview.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this December.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the story, the investigation plot functions as a simple backdrop for the star to have charming scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a child named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and informs the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects on the horizon. Additionally, he is a regular on fan conventions. He recently shared his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I have no memory from being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

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

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, 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, 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 feeling about him?

He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which I guess makes sense. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was great to work with.

“It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around 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 bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like 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 youngest and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember how it happened? 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 understood it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she thought it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.