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

The action icon is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this December.

The Story and That Line

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who poses as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. For much of the movie, the investigation plot serves as a loose framework for the star to have charming moments with his young class. The most unforgettable belongs to a child named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and states the actor, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

The boy behind the line was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films in development. Furthermore, he is a regular on the con circuit. Not long ago discussed his memories from the filming of the classic after all this time.

Behind the Scenes

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 impressive, I don't recall being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

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

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was playful. He was nice, which I suppose 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 good work environment. He was great to work with.

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

I knew he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being positive?

You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, 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. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, 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 realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it came about, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, I suppose 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 agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. 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.