I Am the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an iconic tough guy. Yet, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this December.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. Throughout the film's runtime, the crime storyline acts as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to film humorous moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout involves a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and informs the actor, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a character arc on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films in development. Furthermore, he frequently attends fan conventions. Not long ago discussed his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

Memories from the Set

Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, 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 incredibly nice. He was fun. He was pleasant, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I knew he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful 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 tense up and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the must-have gadget, 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 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 experience as being fun?

You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. 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, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, 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 new. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the infamous quote, 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 knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it was conceived, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were written into the script, 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, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she thought it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.