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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an iconic tough guy. Yet, at the height of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this winter.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who goes undercover as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the crime storyline functions as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to share adorable scenes with children. The most unforgettable features a child named Joseph, who unprompted announces and declares the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a notable part on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the character of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he frequently attends fan conventions. Not long ago recalled his memories from the production 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

That's remarkable, I can't remember being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

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

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, when I became literate, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was pleasant, which I suppose makes sense. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I knew he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd tense up and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. That 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 finally gave out. 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 experience as being fun?

You know, it's interesting, 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, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the other children would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, 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 understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.