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, in the midst of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this December.

The Role and That Line

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who goes undercover as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot serves as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to have charming interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous involves a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted rises and declares the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also engages with fans at the con circuit. He recently discussed his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

Q: To begin, 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 remarkable, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

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

My parents, primarily my mom would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines 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 feeling about him?

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

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

I was aware 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 — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the coolest device, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I used to rock out 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 referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child 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 just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the other children would ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all childhood recollections.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it was conceived, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. 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, I need time" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she believed it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.