I Was the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an iconic tough guy. Yet, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this December.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. For much of the film's runtime, the investigation plot serves as a simple backdrop for Arnold to share adorable moments with his young class. The most unforgettable features a child named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and informs the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a character arc on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the child stars and the character of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects on the horizon. He also engages with fans at popular culture events. He recently recalled his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

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

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

That's remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.

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

My mother, mainly 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, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, 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 some of the first material 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 good-natured, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I knew he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater 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 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 hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. 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 likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative 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 humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably someone in charge 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, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she believed it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.