I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. Yet, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who poses as a elementary educator to catch a killer. For much of the film's runtime, the procedural element serves as a basic structure for the star to share adorable interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous belongs to a child named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and declares the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a notable part on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he is a regular on the con circuit. He recently recalled his memories from the production 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

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

Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to 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 extremely gentle. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I suppose stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I was aware he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, 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 holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the coolest device, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also was given a authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking 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 an exception in this case because it was comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.