I'm Known As the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an iconic tough guy. However, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Film and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who masquerades as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. For much of the story, the crime storyline functions as a basic structure for Arnold to share adorable scenes with children. The most unforgettable involves a student named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and informs the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the character of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he engages with fans at popular culture events. Recently shared his memories from the filming of the classic after all this time.

Behind the Scenes

Q: To begin, 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 impressive, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes 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. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. 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 a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which I suppose makes sense. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I understood he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew 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 came about, from what I understand, 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 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 have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.