I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, during the peak of his star power in the late 20th century, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. For much of the story, the crime storyline serves as a simple backdrop for the star to film humorous interactions with kids. The most unforgettable involves a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted announces and declares the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the child stars and the haunting part of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films in development. He also is a regular on the con circuit. Not long ago discussed his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

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

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

Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

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

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could 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 incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which arguably makes sense. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was great to work with.

“It'd be weird 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 barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — 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 wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. 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 a major status symbol. It was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to 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 real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.