I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Candid Conversation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is universally recognized as an action movie legend. But, during the peak of his star power in the late 20th century, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who masquerades as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. For much of the movie, the procedural element acts as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout involves a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted announces and declares the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was played by child star Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the child stars and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with multiple films listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he frequently attends fan conventions. Recently shared his memories from the production over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

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

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

Yeah, a little bit. 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 take me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, 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, once I learned to read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was very kind. He was playful. He was good-natured, which I suppose stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was fun to be around.

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

I knew he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I just wanted to play with him when he wasn't busy. He was working hard, 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 really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. This was the must-have gadget, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set 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, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, the legendary director, the location shoot, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all little kid memories.

That Famous Quote

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?

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

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it came about, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they refined it on set and, reportedly the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom paused. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and she was right.