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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. Yet, at the height of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Story and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who poses as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the movie, the crime storyline serves as a simple backdrop for Arnold to film humorous moments with his young class. The most unforgettable involves a child named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and informs the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the child stars and the character of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. He also frequently attends the con circuit. Recently discussed his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

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

Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

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 dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was great to work with.

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

I knew he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright 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 real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the coolest toy, 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 knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.