🔗 Share this article I Was the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: An Interview. The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. But, in the midst of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this winter. The Story and An Iconic Moment In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who masquerades as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the story, the investigation plot acts as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to share adorable scenes with children. The most unforgettable involves a student named Joseph, who unprompted rises and informs the actor, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.” That iconic child was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he frequently attends the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later. Memories from the Set Q: To begin, 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 have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time? Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections. Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop? My parents, primarily my mom would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading. Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him? He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which arguably makes sense. It'd be weird if he was a dick 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 unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.” I understood he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the hottest tech out there, 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 finally gave out. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well. Do you remember your experience as being positive? You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories. The Line OK, that specific dialogue, 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 knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny. “It was a difficult decision for her.” How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. 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.
The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. But, in the midst of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this winter. The Story and An Iconic Moment In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who masquerades as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the story, the investigation plot acts as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to share adorable scenes with children. The most unforgettable involves a student named Joseph, who unprompted rises and informs the actor, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.” That iconic child was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he frequently attends the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later. Memories from the Set Q: To begin, 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 have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time? Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections. Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop? My parents, primarily my mom would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading. Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him? He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which arguably makes sense. It'd be weird if he was a dick 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 unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.” I understood he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the hottest tech out there, 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 finally gave out. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well. Do you remember your experience as being positive? You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories. The Line OK, that specific dialogue, 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 knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny. “It was a difficult decision for her.” How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. 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.