I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Candid Conversation.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. However, during the peak of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who masquerades as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. For much of the film's runtime, the crime storyline functions as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to have charming scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a student named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and informs the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was played by child star Miko Hughes. His career featured a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. Additionally, he engages with fans at the con circuit. Recently discussed his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

Wow, I can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

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

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

My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was great to work with.

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

I knew he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright 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 was given a genuine metal whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, 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 coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you grasp the meaning?

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

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, 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 wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, I suppose it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she thought it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.