I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. But, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this December.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who masquerades as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. For much of the film's runtime, the crime storyline functions as a loose framework for the star to have charming interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout features a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere rises and declares the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.”

That iconic child was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he is a regular on popular culture events. He recently shared his memories from the production after all this time.

A Young Actor's Perspective

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 remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.

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

My family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which I suppose stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was great to work with.

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

I knew he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the coolest device, 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 was given a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable?

You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, 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, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

The Line

OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word provocative meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they were still developing characters. 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 developed it during shooting and, I suppose the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.