I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Look Back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the movie, the crime storyline acts as a loose framework for Arnold to have charming moments with his young class. The most unforgettable belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and informs the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a character arc on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the child stars and the character of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects in development. He also frequently attends popular culture events. He recently recalled his memories from the filming of the classic over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

Wow, I can't remember being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could 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 incredibly nice. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I suppose stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I was aware he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten 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 hang off of his arms. He'd tense up 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. It was the hottest tech out there, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was a major production, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a finitely child 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 brand new. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy 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.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, I suppose the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.