I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, during the peak of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a hardened detective who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. During the movie, the investigation plot functions as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to have charming moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a student named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and states the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a notable part on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the character of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films in development. Additionally, he frequently attends fan conventions. He recently recalled his recollections from the filming of the classic over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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

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

Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. 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 any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I suppose makes sense. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was fun to be around.

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

I was aware he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I just wanted to play with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students 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 listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It finally gave out. I also was given a genuine metal whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, 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 big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the other children would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it caused the crew to chuckle. I was aware it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.