I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.

The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. However, in the midst of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this winter.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who masquerades as a elementary educator to catch a killer. During the story, the procedural element acts as a loose framework for Arnold to film humorous moments with his young class. The most unforgettable belongs to a child named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and informs the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a character arc on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he engages with fans at fan conventions. He recently discussed his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

Wow, I have no memory from 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 accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which I guess makes sense. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was fun to be around.

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

I was aware he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a authentic coach's whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle 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 huge film, 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, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction 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 humorous.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, I suppose the filmmakers 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 need time" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she believed it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.