I'm Known As the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.

The action icon is best known as an iconic tough guy. Yet, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this winter.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who poses as a elementary educator to catch a killer. For much of the film's runtime, the crime storyline functions as a simple backdrop for the star to film humorous interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout features a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and declares the stoic star, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the character of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. He also frequently attends the con circuit. Not long ago discussed his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.

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

My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was great to work with.

“It would be strange 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 knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. That was the hottest tech out there, 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 was given a real silver 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 funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I was aware 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 originated, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she believed it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.