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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. Yet, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who poses as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. During the movie, the procedural element functions as a simple backdrop for the star to have charming moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout involves a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere announces and declares the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a notable part 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. He still works in film today, with multiple films in development. Furthermore, he engages with fans at popular culture events. Not long ago shared his experiences from the filming of the classic over three decades on.

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 have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

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

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, 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 some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was fun to be around.

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

I knew he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — 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 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 tense up and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the must-have gadget, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It wore out in time. I also have a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. 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 older kids would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative 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 approval in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she felt it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.