I Am the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Look Back.

The action icon is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. During the movie, the investigation plot serves as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to have charming interactions with kids. The most unforgettable involves a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and declares the actor, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies in development. Additionally, he frequently attends fan conventions. Recently discussed his memories from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

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

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

That's remarkable, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue 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 very kind. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which I guess isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I understood he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the must-have gadget, 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 genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being positive?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember how it happened? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, 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 felt it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.