I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Candid Conversation.

The action icon is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. But, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. During the movie, the crime storyline serves as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to film humorous interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout features a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and states the actor, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies in development. Additionally, he frequently attends fan conventions. Recently shared his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

Memories from the Set

Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.

That's remarkable, I don't recall 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 landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I guess stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.

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

I was aware he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the hottest tech out there, that funky old 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 authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle 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 huge film, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, 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 pepperoni off the top. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I understood 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 originated, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. 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 some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she believed it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.