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

The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. Yet, in the midst of his star power in the late 20th century, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this winter.

The Role and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to catch a killer. Throughout the movie, the crime storyline acts as a loose framework for Arnold to share adorable moments with his young class. Arguably the most famous belongs to a child named Joseph, who spontaneously stands up and informs the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “Thanks for the tip.”

The young actor was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a notable part on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with a slate of movies on the horizon. Additionally, he frequently attends fan conventions. Recently recalled his memories from the production over three decades on.

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.

That's impressive, I can't remember being four. Do you remember anything from that time?

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

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

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, 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 very kind. He was fun. He was nice, which arguably makes sense. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

“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 I was told, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — like, that's cool — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out 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 tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the hottest tech out there, 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 referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, visiting Astoria, the production design, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older 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.

That Famous Quote

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 got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given special permission in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, I suppose the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.