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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an iconic tough guy. But, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this December.

The Film and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. Throughout the movie, the investigation plot acts as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to share adorable scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a child named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and informs the stoic star, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects on the horizon. Additionally, he is a regular on popular culture events. He recently recalled his experiences from the filming of the classic over three decades on.

Memories from the Set

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

Wow, I can't remember being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections.

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

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Sometimes 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, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which arguably makes sense. It'd be weird if he was mean 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 major movie star because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was working hard, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength 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 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 ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a authentic coach's 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 amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the other children would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember how it happened? 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 caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly 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, let me sleep on it" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she felt it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.