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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an iconic tough guy. However, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. Throughout the movie, the procedural element functions as a basic structure for Arnold to have charming scenes with children. The most unforgettable features a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and declares the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the character of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also engages with fans at popular culture events. Not long ago discussed his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

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

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

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

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

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which arguably stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was great to work with.

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

I knew he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — 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 sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the coolest device, that iconic bright 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 have 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 fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Infamous Moment

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

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

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were established early on, 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, "There's a concept. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it will probably be one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.