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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known as an iconic tough guy. Yet, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the story, the crime storyline acts as a simple backdrop for the star to film humorous moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous features a student named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and declares the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the character of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he engages with fans at the con circuit. He recently recalled his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.

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 youngest of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

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

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. 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 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 good-natured, which I guess makes sense. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

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

I understood he was a big action star because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining 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 tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the hottest tech out there, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It eventually broke. I also was given a genuine metal 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 was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

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

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults 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 comedic.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly someone in charge 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 agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.