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

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. But, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who poses as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. For much of the film's runtime, the investigation plot acts as a simple backdrop for the star to have charming interactions with kids. The most unforgettable involves a student named Joseph, who unprompted announces and states the former bodybuilder, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the famous sisters and the character of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he is a regular on fan conventions. Not long ago recalled his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop after all this time.

Behind the Scenes

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

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

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

Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would take 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 for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.

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

He was very kind. He was playful. He was pleasant, which arguably stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was great to work with.

“It would have been odd if he was unpleasant 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 knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. That was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I listened to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It wore out in time. I also was given a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your days on set as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was brand new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

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

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I knew it was provocative and it got a big 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 came about, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. 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 really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she believed it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.