I Am the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.

The action icon is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, in the midst of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who poses as a elementary educator to catch a killer. For much of the film's runtime, the investigation plot acts as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout involves a child named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and states the actor, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a notable part on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the character of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies in development. Additionally, he frequently attends the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his experiences from the production 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

Interviewer: First, 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 impressive, I don't recall being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

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

Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which I guess isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I was aware he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. That was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I used to rock out 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 genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's 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 is such a landmark. 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, traveling to Oregon, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the penis and vagina line, 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 understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they developed it during shooting and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.