I Was the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Candid Conversation.

The action icon is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. Yet, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Role and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who poses as a elementary educator to catch a killer. During the film's runtime, the procedural element serves as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to share adorable interactions with kids. The most unforgettable features a child named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and declares the stoic star, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was played by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the character of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he frequently attends the con circuit. He recently recalled his memories from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

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

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was pleasant, which arguably makes sense. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.

“It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was merely entertaining 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 show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students 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 used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, 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, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, being on a professional 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 meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo 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 an exception in this case because it was humorous.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.