I Was the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. However, during the peak of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who poses as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the story, the crime storyline functions as a simple backdrop for the star to have charming scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a child named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and declares the stoic star, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was played by child star Miko Hughes. His career featured a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. Additionally, he is a regular on popular culture events. Recently discussed his memories from the filming of the classic over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Question: Starting off, 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 have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would accompany me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I knew he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being positive?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, reportedly the filmmakers 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'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.