I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Look Back.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this December.

The Story and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who masquerades as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. Throughout the film's runtime, the procedural element functions as a loose framework for the star to have charming moments with his young class. The most unforgettable belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and declares the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he engages with fans at fan conventions. Recently discussed his recollections from the production over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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 remember anything from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was nice, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was great to work with.

“It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a big action star because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. 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 years on that thing on that thing. It wore out in time. I also have a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, 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, working with [director] 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 didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I likely didn't understand 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 wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. 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 thought it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.