I'm Known As the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. But, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Story and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. For much of the film's runtime, the investigation plot serves as a simple backdrop for the star to have charming scenes with children. Arguably the most famous involves a student named Joseph, who unprompted rises and informs the stoic star, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the character of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. He also frequently attends popular culture events. Not long ago shared his memories from the production after all this time.

Behind the Scenes

Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

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

Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which arguably 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 would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a big action 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 really intimidate me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. It 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 years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, 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 knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was humorous.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she felt it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.