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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. However, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this December.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who goes undercover as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. For much of the story, the procedural element acts as a loose framework for Arnold to have charming scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a child named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and declares the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a notable part on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the character of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he is a regular on fan conventions. Not long ago discussed his recollections from the production after all this time.

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 don't recall being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to 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 fun. He was nice, which I suppose makes sense. It would be strange 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 unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a big action star because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the hottest tech out there, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It eventually broke. 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 days on set as being positive?

You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, the location shoot, the production design, 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 hot thing, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults 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 comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly 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, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she felt it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.