I Am the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. During the movie, the crime storyline acts as a loose framework for Arnold to film humorous interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous involves a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and states the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was played by child star Miko Hughes. His career featured a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the haunting part of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films in development. Additionally, he frequently attends the con circuit. Recently shared his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

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.

Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.

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

My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. 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 an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was nice, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

“It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, 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 busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I used to rock out 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 genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, 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 original Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. 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 quite pleased with myself. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, I suppose someone in charge 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 answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she felt it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.