I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an action movie legend. However, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this winter.

The Story and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who poses as a elementary educator to catch a killer. For much of the story, the crime storyline serves as a basic structure for Arnold to have charming interactions with kids. Arguably the most famous involves a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and states the actor, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “Thank you for that information.”

That iconic child was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects on the horizon. He also frequently attends fan conventions. Recently recalled his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

Behind the Scenes

Interviewer: First, 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 retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.

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

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was good-natured, which arguably stands to reason. It would be strange 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'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a big action star because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was like an iPhone. 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 years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. I also was given a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a huge film, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, 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 pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it will probably be one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.