I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Film and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the movie, the crime storyline acts as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable moments with his young class. The most unforgettable involves a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and informs the actor, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a character arc on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the character of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also frequently attends popular culture events. Recently recalled his experiences from the filming of the classic over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

Question: Starting off, 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.

That's impressive, I can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. 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 fun. He was good-natured, which I guess isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

“It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It eventually broke. I also have a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. 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, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she felt it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.