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

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an action movie legend. However, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this December.

The Film and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the procedural element acts as a simple backdrop for Arnold to have charming scenes with children. Arguably the most famous belongs to a child named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and declares the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films in development. Additionally, he engages with fans at popular culture events. He recently shared his experiences from the production after all this time.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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

Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, 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 probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was fun. He was nice, which I guess isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was fun to be around.

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

I knew he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was working hard, 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 really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?

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 working with Arnold, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, 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 big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids 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 youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

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 understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.