I Was the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.

The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. Yet, in the midst of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who poses as a elementary educator to catch a killer. Throughout the film's runtime, the investigation plot acts as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to have charming scenes with children. Arguably the most famous features a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and informs the actor, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. Additionally, he is a regular on popular culture events. He recently recalled his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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

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

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

Yeah, a little bit. They're brief images. They're like mental photographs.

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

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue 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 impression of him?

He was very kind. He was fun. He was nice, which I guess stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I understood he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen 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 wasn't busy. 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 holding on. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. 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 enjoyable?

You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, 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 quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember how it happened? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.