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

The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. However, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Film and That Line

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who masquerades as a elementary educator to catch a killer. For much of the story, the crime storyline serves as a basic structure for the star to share adorable interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout involves a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted announces and declares the actor, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the character of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he is a regular on the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

Interviewer: First, 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.

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

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

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

My family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was very kind. He was fun. He was nice, which arguably makes sense. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was fun to be around.

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

I understood he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — 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 had time. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. That was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. I understood it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, 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 deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she believed it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.