I Am the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, at the height of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. Throughout the film's runtime, the procedural element serves as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to have charming interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and informs the actor, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the character of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films in development. Additionally, he engages with fans at popular culture events. He recently recalled his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

Behind the Scenes

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

Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.

That's remarkable, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections.

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

My family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which I guess isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was fun to be around.

“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 that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — 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 wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember how it happened? Did you grasp the meaning?

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 wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, reportedly the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.