I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.

The action icon is universally recognized as an action movie legend. Yet, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this December.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. During the film's runtime, the procedural element functions as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout involves a child named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and informs the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the character of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also is a regular on the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his recollections from the production over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

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

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

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

Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections.

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

My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which I guess makes sense. It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

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

I was aware he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child 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 Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

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

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly the filmmakers 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 answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she believed it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.