I Am the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.

The action icon is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, at the height of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who poses as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. Throughout the story, the procedural element functions as a simple backdrop for the star to have charming moments with his young class. The most unforgettable features a child named Joseph, who unprompted rises and declares the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects in development. Additionally, he engages with fans at popular culture events. Recently discussed his experiences from the production after all this time.

Memories from the Set

Interviewer: First, 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 remember anything from that time?

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

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

My parents, primarily my mom would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was nice, which arguably stands to reason. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was great to work with.

“It'd be weird 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 not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the coolest device, that funky old 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 was given a real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

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 provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it was conceived, according to family lore, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming 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 didn't answer immediately. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.