I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: An Interview.

The Austrian Oak is best known as an action movie legend. However, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. For much of the story, the procedural element acts as a simple backdrop for Arnold to share adorable scenes with children. Arguably the most famous involves a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere announces and states the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. He also is a regular on popular culture events. He recently shared his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

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 remember anything from that time?

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

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there briefly, 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 some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was fun. He was pleasant, which I guess isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was great to work with.

“It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also have a real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, 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, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child 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 big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given special permission 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. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, I suppose 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 agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she felt it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.