I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Candid Conversation.

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who poses as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. For much of the film's runtime, the investigation plot functions as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to film humorous moments with his young class. The most unforgettable involves a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and states the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the character of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects on the horizon. Furthermore, he frequently attends fan conventions. He recently discussed his experiences from the production after all this time.

Memories from the Set

Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

That's impressive, I have no memory from being four. Do you have any memories 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 family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I suppose stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant 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 be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, as an adult, 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 really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was proficient. 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 could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, reportedly 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 answer immediately. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she believed it will probably be one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.