I'm Known As the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: An Interview.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an iconic tough guy. However, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who poses as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. Throughout the film's runtime, the crime storyline serves as a loose framework for Arnold to film humorous scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and declares the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career featured a character arc on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the character of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects in development. Furthermore, he is a regular on the con circuit. He recently recalled his recollections from the filming of the classic over three decades on.

Memories from the Set

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

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

Yeah, to a degree. They're brief images. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, when I became literate, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I guess makes sense. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was great to work with.

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

I knew he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing 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 got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your experience 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, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the direction of 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 wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she thought it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.