I'm Known As the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.
The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an action movie legend. But, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.
The Film and That Line
In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who masquerades as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. For much of the movie, the crime storyline functions as a simple backdrop for Arnold to have charming interactions with kids. The most unforgettable features a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and declares the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”
That iconic child was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the character of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects on the horizon. Furthermore, he engages with fans at popular culture events. Not long ago recalled his recollections from the filming of the classic after all this time.
A Young Actor's Perspective
Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?
Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.
That's remarkable, I have no memory from being four. Do you have any memories from that time?
Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections.
Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?
My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading.
Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?
He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which I suppose makes sense. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.
“It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”
I was aware he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid 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 eventually broke. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.
Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?
You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner 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 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 ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.
The Line
OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?
At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.
“It was a difficult decision for her.”
How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" 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 most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.
