I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. But, during the peak of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Film and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. During the movie, the investigation plot functions as a basic structure for Arnold to film humorous interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous features a child named Joseph, who unprompted announces and declares the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a recurring role 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. He continues to act today, with several projects in development. Additionally, he is a regular on fan conventions. He recently recalled his experiences from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Question: Starting off, 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 remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. 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 like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, 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 some of the first material I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was pleasant, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I was aware he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play 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 flex and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. 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 days on set as being positive?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, in retrospect, 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 really picky eater at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo 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 ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. 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. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.