I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: An Interview.

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. Yet, in the midst of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who masquerades as a elementary educator to catch a killer. During the story, the investigation plot functions as a simple backdrop for Arnold to have charming scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a child named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and informs the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films on the horizon. Furthermore, he engages with fans at the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

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

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I have no memory from being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was pleasant, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I was aware he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner 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 first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. 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 humorous.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, 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're thinking. 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, let me sleep on it" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.