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

The action icon is universally recognized as an action movie legend. But, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who poses as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. During the movie, the investigation plot serves as a basic structure for the star to have charming moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous belongs to a student named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and informs the stoic star, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he engages with fans at the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his memories from the filming of the classic 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 can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

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

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would feed me the lines 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 fun. He was good-natured, which I suppose makes sense. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was great to work with.

“It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the coolest device, 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 finally gave out. I also received 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 interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, the production design, 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 first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction 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 humorous.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were established early on, 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, "We're thinking. 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, let me sleep on it" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.