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

The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. But, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who poses as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. Throughout the film's runtime, the investigation plot acts as a loose framework for the star to film humorous interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous belongs to a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere announces and informs the actor, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a character arc on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies in development. Additionally, he engages with fans at popular culture events. Recently discussed his experiences from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

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.

That's impressive, 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 mental photographs.

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I suppose makes sense. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

“It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to 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 genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the Nintendo 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 ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, 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 grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she felt it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.