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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an action movie legend. However, at the height of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. During the story, the crime storyline acts as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to film humorous scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout involves a student named Joseph, who unprompted rises and states the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he frequently attends the con circuit. Not long ago shared his memories from the filming of the classic over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, 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 playful. He was pleasant, which I guess isn't too surprising. 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 a joy to have on set.

“It'd be weird 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 never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. 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 years on that thing on that thing. It wore out in time. I also have a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the direction of 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 avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know 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 special permission in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.