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

The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. Yet, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Role and That Line

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who masquerades as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot functions as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to film humorous interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous features a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and informs the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a character arc on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the character of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he frequently attends fan conventions. Not long ago discussed his memories from the production after all this time.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Q: To begin, 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 can't remember being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.

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

My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Frequently 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 briefly, read a small part they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could 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 incredibly nice. He was playful. He was nice, which I guess isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. 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 understood he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic 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 authentic coach's whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the other children would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she believed it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.