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

The Austrian Oak is best known as an action movie legend. However, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Story and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot serves as a simple backdrop for the star to film humorous interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a student named Joseph, who unprompted rises and informs the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a notable part on Full House as the bully to the child stars 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 listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he frequently attends the con circuit. Recently shared his memories from the filming of the classic after all this time.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Question: Starting off, 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 have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.

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

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which arguably stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.

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

I was aware he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the hottest tech out there, that distinctive classic 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 received a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

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

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, presumably 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 paused. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.