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

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an action movie legend. However, in the midst of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who masquerades as a elementary educator to catch a killer. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot acts as a loose framework for Arnold to film humorous interactions with kids. The most unforgettable features a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted rises and declares the actor, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career included a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. He also frequently attends fan conventions. Recently discussed his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.

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

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

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

My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, 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, 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 extremely gentle. He was fun. He was good-natured, 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 productive set. He was fun to be around.

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

I was aware he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around 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 gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the must-have gadget, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened 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 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 fun?

You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, 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 avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, 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 grasp the meaning?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception 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. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, I suppose the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.