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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. Yet, in the midst of his star power in the late 20th century, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. For much of the film's runtime, the crime storyline serves as a loose framework for Arnold to share adorable moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous involves a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere 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 portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a notable part on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies in development. Additionally, he engages with fans at the con circuit. Recently recalled his recollections from the production 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

That's impressive, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

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

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was great to work with.

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

I understood he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the coolest device, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to 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 time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, seeing the 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 first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices 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 anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, 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 pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.