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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this December.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the film's runtime, the procedural element serves as a basic structure for the star to film humorous scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout involves a student named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and informs the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars 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 listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he engages with fans at fan conventions. Recently shared his experiences from the filming of the classic 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 youngest of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I don't recall being four. Do you have any memories 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 accompany me to auditions. Often 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, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was nice, which arguably makes sense. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was great to work with.

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

I was aware he was a huge celebrity 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 didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. 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 a major status symbol. It was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also have 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 positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?

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

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. 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. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it will probably be one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.