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

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, in the midst of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Role and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the story, the procedural element functions as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout involves a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and states the actor, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a character arc on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects on the horizon. Additionally, he engages with fans at the con circuit. Recently shared his memories from the filming of the classic over three decades on.

Memories from the Set

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

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

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

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue 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 arguably makes sense. It would have been odd 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 mean 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 barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the must-have gadget, 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 have a real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a huge film, 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, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?

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 was aware it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, reportedly the filmmakers 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, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she believed it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.