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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, at the height of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Story and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who masquerades as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. For much of the movie, the investigation plot serves as a basic structure for the star to have charming moments with his young class. The most unforgettable features a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and states the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career featured a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins 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 several projects in development. Additionally, he frequently attends popular culture events. Recently shared his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

Behind the Scenes

Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I can't remember 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 landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to 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 playful. He was pleasant, which I guess stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I understood he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the coolest device, that funky old 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 real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she felt it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.