I'm Known As the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. However, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this December.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the story, the crime storyline functions as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to film humorous scenes with children. Arguably the most famous features a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted announces and states the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was played by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films in development. He also is a regular on fan conventions. He recently shared his memories from the production 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 impressive, I can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was good-natured, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was great to work with.

“It would have been odd if he was mean 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 sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten 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 sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright 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 teacher's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a huge film, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, as an adult, 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 finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation 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 get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. 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 comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.