I'm Known As the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an action movie legend. Yet, during the peak of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Role and That Line

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot functions as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to have charming moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous features a student named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and informs the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career included a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the character of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films in development. Additionally, he frequently attends the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his memories from the production after all this time.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

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

Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

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

My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which I guess stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I was aware he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the coolest device, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, looking back now, 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 wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. 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 beat difficult stages 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, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I likely didn't understand 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 wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, I suppose it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it will probably be one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.