I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. But, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this December.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who poses as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. During the story, the investigation plot serves as a simple backdrop for the star to have charming interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a child named Joseph, who unprompted announces and declares the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he frequently attends the con circuit. He recently shared his memories 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 believe I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

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

Yeah, to a degree. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was very kind. He was fun. He was nice, which I suppose makes sense. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was fun to be around.

“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 I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, the location shoot, being on a professional set, 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 meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? 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 caused the crew to chuckle. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it will probably be one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.