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

The action icon is universally recognized as an action movie legend. Yet, at the height of his star power in the late 20th century, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. Throughout the film's runtime, the investigation plot acts as a simple backdrop for the star to have charming interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous involves a student named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and states the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

That iconic child was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part encompassed a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the pivotal role of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. Furthermore, he is a regular on the con circuit. He recently shared his recollections from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

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

Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set.

That's impressive, I can't remember 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 were cast 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 simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I guess 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 positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.

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

I was aware he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the hottest tech out there, that funky old 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 received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

You know, it's funny, that movie became a phenomenon. 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 the star himself, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, the production design, 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 toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, 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 have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.