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

The action icon is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, during the peak of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Role and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who poses as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. For much of the film's runtime, the investigation plot functions as a basic structure for the star to film humorous scenes with children. Arguably the most famous belongs to a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and informs the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career featured a character arc on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects in development. Furthermore, he is a regular on fan conventions. Recently recalled his experiences from the filming of the classic over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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

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

Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections.

Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors 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 that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, when I became literate, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was fun. He was nice, which arguably isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was fun to be around.

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

I understood he was a huge celebrity 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 didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex 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 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 real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, 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, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she thought it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.