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

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. But, in the midst of his star power in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this December.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to track down a criminal. For much of the story, the investigation plot serves as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to share adorable moments with his young class. The most unforgettable belongs to a student named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and declares the stoic star, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with multiple films in development. Additionally, he frequently attends the con circuit. Not long ago shared his memories from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

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 youngest of all the kids on set.

That's remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

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

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would accompany me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I guess stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a productive set. He was fun to be around.

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

I understood he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be hanging off. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. That was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for a long time 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 received one too as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being positive?

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, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

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

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 special permission in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they worked on it while filming 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 didn't agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.