I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an action movie legend. But, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who masquerades as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the story, the procedural element functions as a loose framework for Arnold to film humorous moments with his young class. The most unforgettable involves a child named Joseph, who unprompted announces and informs 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 brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a notable part on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects on the horizon. Additionally, he frequently attends popular culture events. He recently shared his memories from the filming of the classic over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

Q: To begin, 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 retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections.

Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was great to work with.

“It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. I also was given 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 is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. 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 humorous.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she thought it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.