I Was the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this December.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a elementary educator to catch a killer. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot functions as a loose framework for the star to have charming moments with his young class. The most unforgettable features a child named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and states the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career included a character arc on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he is a regular on popular culture events. Not long ago discussed his recollections from the filming of the classic after all this time.

Behind the Scenes

Question: Starting off, 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 have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

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

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

My parents, primarily my mom would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open 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 coach me on the dialogue 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 extremely gentle. He was fun. He was nice, which I guess isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was great to work with.

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

I was aware he was a big action star because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. That was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the legendary director, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. I understood it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. 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 day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.