I Am the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Look Back.

The action icon is best known as an iconic tough guy. However, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who masquerades as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. For much of the story, the crime storyline serves as a basic structure for the star to film humorous moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout features a student named Joseph, who unprompted announces and informs the stoic star, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he frequently attends the con circuit. Not long ago discussed his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Q: To begin, 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 retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections.

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

My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open 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, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. 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 very kind. He was playful. He was nice, which I suppose stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

“It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. That 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 was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid 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, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it will probably be one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.