I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an iconic tough guy. But, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Role and That Line

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who poses as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. During the movie, the procedural element serves as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to film humorous scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and states the actor, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. His career included a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he engages with fans at fan conventions. He recently recalled his recollections from the production 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

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.

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

Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

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

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that's all. 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 a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was playful. He was nice, which I guess stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was great to work with.

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

I knew he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. 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 coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It wore out in time. I also was given a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being positive?

You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, 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, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. 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 knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I understood it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.