I Am the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.

The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. However, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. Throughout the movie, the procedural element acts as a basic structure for Arnold to have charming interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous involves a child named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and informs the actor, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career featured a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the character of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he is a regular on the con circuit. Recently discussed his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

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 youngest of all the kids on set.

That's remarkable, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're brief images. They're like visual recollections.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, 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 probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was very kind. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I guess 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 would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, 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 purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It finally gave out. I also was given a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. 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 collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. 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 little kid memories.

The Line

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

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly 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, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.