I Am the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, at the height of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this winter.

The Story and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who masquerades as a elementary educator to catch a killer. For much of the film's runtime, the investigation plot functions as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous features a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and states the actor, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was played by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the character of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films on the horizon. Additionally, he engages with fans at fan conventions. He recently discussed his recollections from the filming of the classic after all this time.

Memories from the Set

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

Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.

That's remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was very kind. He was playful. He was nice, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I was aware 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 had time. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the coolest device, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?

You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. 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 the star himself, the legendary director, 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 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 hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the other children would hand me their devices 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 how it happened? 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 wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, 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 have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she felt it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.