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

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an action movie legend. But, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. During the story, the procedural element serves as a basic structure for the star to share adorable moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout features a student named Joseph, who unprompted rises and states the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films on the horizon. Furthermore, he frequently attends the con circuit. Recently discussed his memories from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

Question: Starting off, 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 don't recall being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

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

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could 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 extremely gentle. He was playful. He was good-natured, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

“It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. 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 incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, 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 direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo 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 pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she thought it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.