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

The action icon is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a elementary educator to catch a killer. During the story, the investigation plot functions as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to have charming scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere announces and states the actor, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career featured a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies in development. He also frequently attends fan conventions. Recently discussed his experiences from the production 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

Q: To begin, 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.

Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there for a very short time, 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 impression of him?

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. 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 fun to be around.

“It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It eventually broke. I also was given a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, 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 Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. 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 would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.