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

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. For much of the movie, the procedural element functions as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to film humorous interactions with kids. The most unforgettable belongs to a student named Joseph, who unprompted announces and declares the actor, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career featured a notable part on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he is a regular on the con circuit. Recently recalled his experiences from the production 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

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

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

Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

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

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would feed me the lines and then, once I learned to read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was great to work with.

“It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid 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 a long time on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a genuine metal 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 amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, 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 was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

That Famous Quote

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember how it happened? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“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 written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.