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

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. Yet, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this December.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. For much of the movie, the investigation plot acts as a loose framework for the star to have charming scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout involves a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and states the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a recurring role 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 still works in film today, with a slate of movies in development. Furthermore, he is a regular on the con circuit. Not long ago discussed his experiences from the production 35 years later.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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

Miko Hughes: I believe 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 have any memories from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections.

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

My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was good-natured, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I understood he was a big action star because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — 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 cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the hottest tech out there, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. 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 youngest and some of the other children would ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

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

At the time, I likely didn't understand 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 wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it was conceived, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. 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 a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.