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

The action icon is universally recognized as an action movie legend. But, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who poses as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. During the film's runtime, the crime storyline functions as a simple backdrop for Arnold to have charming moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout involves a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and informs the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies in development. He also is a regular on popular culture events. He recently recalled his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

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

Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.

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

Yeah, a little bit. They're brief images. They're like visual recollections.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was nice, which I suppose stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was fun to be around.

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

I was aware he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun 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 dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. 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 listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It eventually broke. I also was given a real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, 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, traveling to Oregon, seeing the 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 meat from the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. 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 quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

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 got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, I suppose the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.