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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, at the height of his star power in the late 20th century, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who poses as a elementary educator to catch a killer. For much of the film's runtime, the procedural element acts as a basic structure for Arnold to have charming interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a child named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and informs the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “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 playing the antagonist to the child stars and the character of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films on the horizon. Additionally, he frequently attends the con circuit. Not long ago shared his recollections from the production over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Q: To begin, 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.

Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

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

Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue 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 pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was fun to be around.

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

I understood he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched 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 only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, 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 wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly it's either the director or producers 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 agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she felt it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.