I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: An Interview.

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an action movie legend. However, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this December.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who masquerades as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. For much of the story, the crime storyline functions as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to film humorous moments with his young class. The most unforgettable involves a child named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and informs the stoic star, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he is a regular on popular culture events. Not long ago shared his recollections from the filming of the classic after all this time.

Memories from the Set

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

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

That's remarkable, I have no memory from being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're brief images. They're like visual recollections.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there briefly, 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 the initial content I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was very kind. He was fun. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

“It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a huge celebrity because I was told, 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 just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, 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 dangling there. 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 must-have gadget, 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 finally gave out. I also have a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.