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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. Yet, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this December.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who masquerades as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. Throughout the film's runtime, the investigation plot functions as a basic structure for the star to film humorous interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous involves a child named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and states the actor, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a notable part on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he is a regular on fan conventions. Recently shared his memories from the production over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Question: Starting off, 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.

Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections.

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part 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 a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was good-natured, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was fun to be around.

“It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, 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 exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It wore out in time. I also was given a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being positive?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. 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 collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, 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 written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly it's either the director or producers 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, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.