I Am the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: A Candid Conversation.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. But, in the midst of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this December.

The Film and That Line

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a hardened detective who goes undercover as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. Throughout the story, the procedural element serves as a basic structure for the star to have charming moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous involves a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and states the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was played by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a character arc on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies in development. He also frequently attends fan conventions. Recently discussed his recollections from the production 35 years later.

Memories from the Set

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

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

Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was fun. He was nice, which I guess stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I understood he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful 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 hang off of his arms. He'd flex 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 the hottest tech. This was the hottest tech out there, 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 real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

You know, it's funny, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater 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 quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was humorous.

“She really wrestled with it.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. 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 worked on it while filming and, reportedly 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 didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she felt it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.