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

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this winter.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who masquerades as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. During the story, the crime storyline functions as a loose framework for Arnold to have charming moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous features a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted announces and states the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. Furthermore, he engages with fans at the con circuit. He recently shared his memories from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Question: Starting off, 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 impressive, I can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Sometimes 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 for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was nice, which I suppose stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.

“It would be strange if he was a dick 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 knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining 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 hang off of his arms. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the must-have gadget, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?

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 wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, presumably 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 answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she believed it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.