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

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an action movie legend. However, at the height of his star power in the late 20th century, he also headlined several critically acclaimed comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Story and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who masquerades as a elementary educator to catch a killer. Throughout the movie, the investigation plot serves as a basic structure for the star to share adorable interactions with kids. The most unforgettable involves a little boy named Joseph, who out of nowhere announces and declares the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was portrayed by child star Miko Hughes. His career encompassed a character arc on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back 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 frequently attends the con circuit. Not long ago discussed his experiences from the production after all this time.

Behind the Scenes

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 impressive, I can't remember being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

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

My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would feed me the lines and then, once I learned to read, that was some of the first material I was reading.

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

He was extremely gentle. He was playful. He was pleasant, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

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

I knew he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was busy, obviously, 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 hanging off. He was really, really generous. He bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. 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 a long time on that thing. It eventually broke. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was pretty good at it. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to beat difficult stages on games because I could do it, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

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

At the time, I probably didn't know what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.

“My mom thought hard about it.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Give me a moment, I need time" and took some time. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she believed it could end up as one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.