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

The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. Yet, in the midst of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this December.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who masquerades as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. Throughout the story, the investigation plot serves as a loose framework for Arnold to share adorable moments with his young class. The most unforgettable involves a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and states the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a character arc on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the child stars and the character of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films in development. He also engages with fans at fan conventions. Not long ago discussed his memories from the production over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Question: Starting off, 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 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 take me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was nice, which arguably stands to reason. It'd be weird 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 unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. 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 distinctive classic 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 eventually broke. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the teacher'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 was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, the location shoot, seeing the 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 meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, 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 understand the words?

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 humorous.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, presumably the filmmakers 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 a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she felt it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.