I Was the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an action movie legend. However, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Role and That Line

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who masquerades as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. For much of the film's runtime, the investigation plot serves as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable scenes with children. Arguably the most famous features a student named Joseph, who unprompted announces and states the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films on the horizon. Furthermore, he frequently attends the con circuit. Not long ago shared his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

Memories from the Set

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

Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which I guess makes sense. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I knew he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — 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 working hard, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the coolest device, that funky old 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 have a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a huge film, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, 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. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. 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 really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

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 knew it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.