I Was the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. However, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who masquerades as a elementary educator to catch a killer. For much of the movie, the investigation plot functions as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable interactions with kids. The most unforgettable involves a student named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and declares the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was played by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he frequently attends fan conventions. He recently discussed his experiences from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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

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

That's remarkable, I can't remember being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was very kind. He was playful. He was nice, which arguably 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 positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.

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

I was aware he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It eventually broke. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's funny, 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 working with Arnold, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, seeing the 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 toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the other children would ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Infamous Moment

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

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, 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 part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose 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 agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.