I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. But, at the height of his star power in the late 20th century, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. During the film's runtime, the crime storyline acts 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 unprompted stands up and declares the stoic star, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. His career included 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 still works in film today, with a slate of movies in development. He also engages with fans at the con circuit. Not long ago shared his experiences from the production over three decades on.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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

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

That's remarkable, I have no memory from being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like mental photographs.

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

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which arguably makes sense. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I understood he was a huge celebrity because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out 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 show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. It 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 received a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

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, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember how it happened? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it caused the crew to chuckle. I was aware it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, presumably 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 paused. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she was hesitant, but she believed it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.