I Was the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.

The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. But, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Role and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who poses as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. Throughout the movie, the crime storyline acts as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to have charming interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous features a student named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and states the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career included a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the character of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies in development. Additionally, he is a regular on fan conventions. Not long ago discussed his recollections 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 think I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

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

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids 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 then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which arguably makes sense. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create 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 big action star because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also have a authentic coach's whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. 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 collaborating with Schwarzenegger, 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 meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.