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

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. Yet, at the height of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. During the movie, the crime storyline functions as a basic structure for the star to have charming moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous involves a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and informs the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films in development. Additionally, he is a regular on popular culture events. Not long ago recalled his experiences from the production over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

Q: To begin, 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.

Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you have any memories 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 like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little 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 an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I guess makes sense. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster 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 was aware he was a huge celebrity 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 simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, 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 the hottest tech. It was the hottest tech out there, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a huge film, 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 direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults 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.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, 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 entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set 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 didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.