I Am the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

The action icon is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. But, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Role and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. Throughout the film's runtime, the crime storyline functions as a loose framework for Arnold to have charming moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous features a child named Joseph, who unprompted rises and informs the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a notable part on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the character of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies in development. Furthermore, he frequently attends fan conventions. Recently shared his memories from the production over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

Wow, I can't remember being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which I suppose stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was great to work with.

“It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a big action star because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the hottest tech out there, 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 finally gave out. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the youngest 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.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she believed it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.