I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

The action icon is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, during the peak of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this winter.

The Role and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who poses as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot functions as a loose framework for the star to have charming interactions with kids. The most unforgettable involves a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted announces and informs the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career featured a character arc on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the character of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also engages with fans at fan conventions. Recently recalled his recollections from the production after all this time.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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.

That's remarkable, I can't remember being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections.

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

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which I guess isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I knew he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining 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 dangle from his limbs. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the must-have gadget, 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 wore out in time. I also have a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, the location shoot, seeing the set, 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 brand new. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

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 wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was humorous.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, from what I understand, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose it's either the director or producers 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, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she believed it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.