I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: An Interview.

The action icon is universally recognized as an iconic tough guy. But, in the midst of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who masquerades as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. During the movie, the investigation plot functions as a basic structure for Arnold to share adorable scenes with children. Arguably the most famous features a student named Joseph, who unprompted announces and informs the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films on the horizon. Additionally, he is a regular on popular culture events. Recently recalled his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

Interviewer: First, 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.

Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was pleasant, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

“It would have been odd 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 never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — 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 busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach 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 was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

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 shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was humorous.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.