I Am the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.

The action icon is best known as an iconic tough guy. Yet, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this December.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. Throughout the film's runtime, the investigation plot functions as a simple backdrop for Arnold to have charming scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout involves a child named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and declares the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career featured a character arc on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the haunting part 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. He also engages with fans at popular culture events. Recently recalled his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

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 smallest of all the kids on set.

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

Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. 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. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words 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 take on him?

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was fun to be around.

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

I knew he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the coolest device, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It eventually broke. I also have a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee'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 is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, the location shoot, 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 first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it will probably be one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.