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

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. But, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who poses as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. For much of the story, the crime storyline acts as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to film humorous scenes with children. The most unforgettable features a child named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and informs the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was brought to life 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 youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also is a regular on popular culture events. Recently recalled his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

Memories from the Set

Q: To begin, 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.

That's remarkable, I can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that was it. 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 feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I guess stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was great to work with.

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

I knew 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 — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be hanging off. 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 iconic bright 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 eventually broke. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, 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 example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was 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 pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults 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 comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.