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

The action icon is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. Yet, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this winter.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who masquerades as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. During the film's runtime, the crime storyline serves as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to share adorable interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and informs the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he frequently attends the con circuit. He recently shared his recollections from the filming of the classic over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

Question: Starting off, 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.

That's impressive, I don't recall being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. 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 bring me to auditions. Sometimes 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 less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was nice, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was great to work with.

“It'd be weird if he was unpleasant 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 sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact 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 dangling there. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the coolest device, that funky old 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 eventually broke. I also have a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, 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 whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming 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, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.