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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, at the height of his star power in the late 20th century, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who masquerades as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. For much of the movie, the crime storyline serves as a loose framework for Arnold to share adorable scenes with children. Arguably the most famous involves a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and declares the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the character of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he frequently attends the con circuit. Recently discussed his recollections from the filming of the classic after all this time.

Memories from the Set

Interviewer: First, 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 don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which I guess makes sense. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

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

I was aware he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. 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 hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It wore out in time. I also was given 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 positive?

You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the other children would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, 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 realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.