I'm Known As the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: An Interview.

The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. However, in the midst of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Story and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who poses as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. For much of the movie, the procedural element serves as a basic structure for Arnold to film humorous moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a child named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and declares the actor, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was played 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 pivotal role of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he frequently attends fan conventions. Not long ago discussed his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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

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

That's impressive, I don't recall being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. 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 a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I knew 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 didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining 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 purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the hottest tech out there, 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 have a genuine metal whistle. He had the referee'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 interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, 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, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, the production design, 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 meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the other children would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, presumably 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 didn't agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.