I'm Known As the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: An Interview.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Role and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who poses as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the film's runtime, the procedural element functions as a basic structure for Arnold to share adorable scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout involves a child named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and declares the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a notable part on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the haunting part of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. Furthermore, he is a regular on the con circuit. Not long ago shared his memories from the production 35 years later.

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 youngest of all the kids on set.

That's remarkable, I can't remember being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

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

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was playful. He was good-natured, which I guess isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. 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 huge celebrity because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the must-have gadget, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also was given a real silver whistle. He had the referee'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 interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, looking back now, 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 wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Infamous Moment

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.