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

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, during the peak of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who masquerades as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. For much of the story, the procedural element functions as a loose framework for the star to share adorable interactions with kids. The most unforgettable belongs to a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and informs the actor, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was played by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a character arc on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the character of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he engages with fans at fan conventions. He recently discussed his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

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

Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the most junior 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 picture memories.

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, 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 some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I guess stands to reason. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was fun to be around.

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

I understood he was a big action star because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. It 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 have a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand new. That was the coolest toy, 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 was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, 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 understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. 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 comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.