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

The Austrian Oak is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, at the height of his star power in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger portrays a hardened detective who poses as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the story, the investigation plot functions as a simple backdrop for the star to have charming scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and declares the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he frequently attends popular culture events. Recently discussed his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

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

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.

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

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

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

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all just have to wait, enter the casting office, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words 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 very kind. He was playful. He was good-natured, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

“It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be holding on. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a authentic coach's whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being enjoyable?

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, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the direction of Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. 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 ask for my help to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, 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 kids together, it was more of a collaboration, 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 have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she felt it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and history proved her correct.