I'm Known As the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.

The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. But, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Film and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. During the story, the investigation plot functions as a simple backdrop for Arnold to share adorable interactions with kids. The most unforgettable features a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and states the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. He also is a regular on popular culture events. He recently discussed his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Q: To begin, 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, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, 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 some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was nice, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was great to work with.

“It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a big action star because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. That was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach 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 is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was humorous.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, 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 wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly it's either the director or producers 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, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.