I Am the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. Yet, during the peak of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this December.

The Story and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. During the film's runtime, the crime storyline serves as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to have charming interactions with kids. The most unforgettable involves a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and declares the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the character of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects in development. Furthermore, he frequently attends the con circuit. Recently recalled his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

Behind the Scenes

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

Wow, I don't recall 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 landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which I suppose makes sense. It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was great to work with.

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

I understood he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — 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 occasionally joke around here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. 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 collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.