I'm Known As the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Look Back.

The Austrian Oak is best known as an iconic tough guy. However, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Story and That Line

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who masquerades as a elementary educator to catch a killer. During the movie, the procedural element serves as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout involves a child named Joseph, who unprompted announces and states the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the character of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he engages with fans at the con circuit. He recently recalled his experiences from the production over three decades on.

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 impressive, I can't remember being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like visual recollections.

Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which arguably stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

“It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a big action star because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. That was the coolest device, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It eventually broke. I also have a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, 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, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the other children 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 childhood recollections.

That Famous Quote

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, 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 have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.