I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an action movie legend. Yet, at the height of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Film and That Line

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who poses as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. Throughout the movie, the procedural element functions as a loose framework for the star to have charming moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a student named Joseph, who unprompted announces and informs the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the character of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films on the horizon. Additionally, he engages with fans at fan conventions. He recently shared his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

Memories from the Set

Interviewer: First, 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 have no memory from being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections.

Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there briefly, 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 some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which arguably stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I was aware he was a big action star because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. 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 show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, 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 pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know 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 funny.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.