I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this December.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who poses as a elementary educator to catch a killer. For much of the film's runtime, the investigation plot serves as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to film humorous interactions with kids. The most unforgettable features a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and informs the stoic star, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he engages with fans at popular culture events. He recently shared his experiences from the production over three decades on.

Memories from the Set

Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.

That's remarkable, I can't remember being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff 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 arguably isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was unpleasant 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 a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — 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 kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. 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 positive?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. 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 the star himself, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. 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, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she felt it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.