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

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this December.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who masquerades as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. For much of the film's runtime, the investigation plot serves as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to have charming scenes with children. Arguably the most famous involves a child named Joseph, who unprompted announces and informs the actor, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career featured a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the character of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he engages with fans at popular culture events. Recently recalled his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

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

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I can't remember being four. Do you have any memories 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 take me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was nice, which I suppose makes sense. It would have been odd 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 a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic 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 have a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being positive?

You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater 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 original Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.