I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Look Back.

The Austrian Oak is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, during the peak of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this winter.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who masquerades as a elementary educator to catch a killer. Throughout the movie, the crime storyline acts as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to share adorable interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous features a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere announces and states the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

The boy behind the line was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included 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. Hughes remains active today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he frequently attends popular culture events. He recently discussed his experiences from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

Q: To begin, 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 impressive, I don't recall being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're brief images. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue 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 enjoyable. He was nice, which I suppose makes sense. 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 fun to be around.

“It'd be weird if he was a dick 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 sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a huge film, 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, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child 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 just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. 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 little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, the penis and vagina line, 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 provocative meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.