I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. However, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this December.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. For much of the movie, the investigation plot acts as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to film humorous interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous involves a child named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and informs the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he frequently attends popular culture events. Not long ago discussed his experiences from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I can't remember being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

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

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. 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 impression of him?

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was good-natured, which arguably makes sense. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.

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

I understood he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — 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 wasn't busy. He was working hard, 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 dangling there. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. That was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, 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 brand new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

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

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, 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 was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she felt it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.