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

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the film's runtime, the investigation plot serves as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to have charming moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout features a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and declares the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the child stars and the character of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies in development. Additionally, he engages with fans at fan conventions. He recently shared his experiences from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Q: To begin, 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 can't remember being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

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

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

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, 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 positive atmosphere. 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 major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.