🔗 Share this article I Am the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back. Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. But, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this December. The Role and The Famous Scene In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. For much of the movie, the investigation plot functions as a loose framework for the star to share adorable interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout involves a child named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and declares the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thank you for that information.” The young actor was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also frequently attends the con circuit. Recently recalled his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later. A Young Actor's Perspective Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop? Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set. That's remarkable, I can't remember being four. Do you remember anything from that time? Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories. Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop? My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and then leave. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading. Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him? He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was a dick 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 be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.” I was aware he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, 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 gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic 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 have a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well. Do you remember your time filming 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, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. 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 knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes. The Line OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you know what you were saying? At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults 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 humorous. “She really wrestled with it.” How it came about, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. 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, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she thought it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. But, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also starred in several genuinely hilarious comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this December. The Role and The Famous Scene In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. For much of the movie, the investigation plot functions as a loose framework for the star to share adorable interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout involves a child named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and declares the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “Thank you for that information.” The young actor was portrayed by youth performer Miko Hughes. In addition to this part included a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the youngster who comes back in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also frequently attends the con circuit. Recently recalled his recollections from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later. A Young Actor's Perspective Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop? Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the most junior of all the kids on set. That's remarkable, I can't remember being four. Do you remember anything from that time? Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories. Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop? My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Frequently it was a mass tryout. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and then leave. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading. Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him? He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was a dick 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 be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.” I was aware he was a big action star because my family informed me, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was just fun and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, 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 gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. That was the must-have gadget, that distinctive classic 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 have a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well. Do you remember your time filming 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, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. 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 knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes. The Line OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember how it happened? Did you know what you were saying? At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults 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 humorous. “She really wrestled with it.” How it came about, from what I understand, was they were still developing characters. 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, presumably someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We have an idea. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took some time. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she thought it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and history proved her correct.