I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who masquerades as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. For much of the film's runtime, the investigation plot functions as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to have charming interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous involves a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and states the actor, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies in development. Additionally, he frequently attends the con circuit. Not long ago discussed his recollections from the production after all this time.

Memories from the Set

Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I think 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 have any memories from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections.

Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, 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 pleasant, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was great to work with.

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

I knew he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He bought every kid in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the coolest device, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I used to rock out 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 was given a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?

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 was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.