I Am the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. Yet, during the peak of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this holiday season.

The Role and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who poses as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the crime storyline functions as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to share adorable scenes with children. Arguably the most famous belongs to a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and informs the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the child stars and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects in development. Additionally, he frequently attends popular culture events. Not long ago recalled his memories from the filming of the classic 35 years later.

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 remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

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

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Sometimes 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, read a small part they wanted and then leave. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was fun to be around.

“It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies 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, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would ask for my help to get past hard parts on games because I was able to, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? 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 got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose 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, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she felt it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.