I Am the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Candid Conversation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. Yet, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Role and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who poses as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. For much of the movie, the investigation plot functions as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to have charming scenes with children. The most unforgettable features a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere announces and informs the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a character arc on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the character of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects on the horizon. He also is a regular on popular culture events. Not long ago discussed his memories from the filming of the classic after all this time.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Q: To begin, 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 can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was playful. He was nice, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was mean 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 mean to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining 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 hang off of his arms. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the coolest device, that iconic bright 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 genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.