I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. Yet, in the midst of his blockbuster fame in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Story and That Line

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who masquerades as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot serves as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to film humorous moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous features a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and informs the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. His career featured a notable part on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects on the horizon. Furthermore, he is a regular on the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his memories from the production 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.

Wow, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like visual recollections.

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

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was extremely gentle. He was fun. He was nice, which I guess stands to reason. It would be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was a joy to have on set.

“It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a major movie star because that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. 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 collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. 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 little kid memories.

The Infamous Moment

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given special permission in this case because it was comedic.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the kids together, 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 have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.