🔗 Share this article I Am the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Candid Conversation. The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. But, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter. The Story and An Iconic Moment In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who poses as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. During the story, the procedural element serves as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to share adorable interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous involves a student named Joseph, who unprompted rises and declares the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.” That iconic child was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also frequently attends popular culture events. Recently shared his memories from the production 35 years later. Behind the Scenes Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop? Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set. Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time? Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections. Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop? My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading. Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him? He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which I suppose makes sense. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set. “It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.” I was aware he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be holding on. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also have a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well. Do you remember your experience as being positive? You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, 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, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. 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 taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny. “My mom thought hard about it.” How it originated, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. 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, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. 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 could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.
The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. But, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter. The Story and An Iconic Moment In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who poses as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. During the story, the procedural element serves as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to share adorable interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous involves a student named Joseph, who unprompted rises and declares the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.” That iconic child was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also frequently attends popular culture events. Recently shared his memories from the production 35 years later. Behind the Scenes Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop? Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set. Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time? Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections. Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop? My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading. Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him? He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which I suppose makes sense. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set. “It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.” I was aware he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be holding on. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also have a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well. Do you remember your experience as being positive? You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, 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, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. 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 taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny. “My mom thought hard about it.” How it originated, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. 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, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. 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 could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.