I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, in the midst of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who masquerades as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the procedural element acts as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to film humorous interactions with kids. The most unforgettable involves a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and declares the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the character of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also is a regular on popular culture events. Recently recalled his recollections from the production 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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.

Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're brief images. They're like visual recollections.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could 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 fun. He was nice, which I guess isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was great to work with.

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

I was aware he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex 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. That was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a huge film, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, 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 meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids 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 youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she believed it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.