I Am the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.

The Austrian Oak is best known as an action movie legend. However, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this winter.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who poses as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot functions as a loose framework for the star to have charming moments with his young class. The most unforgettable involves a student named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and informs the actor, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a character arc on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the character of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he is a regular on the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

Memories from the Set

Interviewer: First, 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 impressive, I can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like mental photographs.

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

My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was nice, which I suppose makes sense. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create 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 was aware he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the must-have gadget, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable?

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, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. 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 was conceived, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. Certain bits of dialogue 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, reportedly 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 agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.