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

The action icon is best known as an iconic tough guy. Yet, in the midst of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the crime storyline serves as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and declares the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career featured a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the character of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects on the horizon. Furthermore, he frequently attends popular culture events. He recently shared his recollections from the production over three decades on.

Memories from the Set

Question: Starting off, 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 have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. 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. Often it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that's all. 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 any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was good-natured, which arguably makes sense. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I knew he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It eventually broke. I also was given a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the legendary director, 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 toppings only. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I understood it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“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 established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, 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 deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.