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

The action icon is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this winter.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. During the story, the procedural element acts as a basic structure for Arnold to have charming interactions with kids. The most unforgettable features a child named Joseph, who unprompted rises and states the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects in development. Additionally, he is a regular on fan conventions. He recently shared his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

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

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.

Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. 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 like a cattle call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which I suppose makes sense. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was great to work with.

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

I was aware he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd tense up and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the coolest device, 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 finally gave out. I also have a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

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

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking 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 special permission in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting 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, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she believed it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.