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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. However, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. During the movie, the investigation plot serves as a basic structure for Arnold to have charming scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and declares the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. He also is a regular on popular culture events. Not long ago discussed his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

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

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

Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would accompany me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would feed me the lines and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was fun. He was pleasant, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was fun to be around.

“It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright 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 coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being positive?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, 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 direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" 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 unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.