I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an action movie legend. Yet, in the midst of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35-year mark this December.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the movie, the crime storyline functions as a loose framework for the star to share adorable interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout involves a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere announces and informs the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a notable part on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the character of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects in development. Additionally, he is a regular on the con circuit. He recently shared his recollections 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: My understanding is I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.

That's remarkable, I can't remember being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like mental photographs.

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

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was good-natured, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was unpleasant 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 unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — 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 busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the coolest device, that iconic bright 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 finally gave out. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's 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 became a phenomenon. 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 collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, 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 wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was humorous.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, I suppose 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 didn't answer immediately. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.