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, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who masquerades as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. For much of the film's runtime, the investigation plot serves as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to have charming moments with his young class. The most unforgettable involves a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and declares the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects in development. He also engages with fans at fan conventions. Not long ago recalled his memories from the filming of the classic after all this time.

Memories from the Set

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 have any memories from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would take 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 for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue 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 feeling about him?

He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was pleasant, which arguably stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. 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 felt the importance — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us 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 bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, 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 knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it was conceived, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming 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, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.