I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. But, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Role and That Line

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who masquerades as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. Throughout the film's runtime, the crime storyline acts as a simple backdrop for Arnold to film humorous scenes with children. The most unforgettable involves a child named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and declares the actor, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a character arc on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the character of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films on the horizon. Additionally, he frequently attends popular culture events. He recently recalled his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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

Miko Hughes: I think 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 retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was nice, which I guess makes sense. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.

“It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, 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 exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the hottest tech out there, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It wore out in time. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she felt it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.