I Am the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Candid Conversation.
The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. Yet, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this December.
The Role and The Famous Scene
In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the movie, the investigation plot functions as a basic structure for the star to film humorous moments with his young class. The most unforgettable belongs to a student named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and informs the stoic star, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Schwarzenegger deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”
The boy behind the line was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films in development. He also frequently attends the con circuit. Not long ago recalled his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.
A Young Actor's Perspective
Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?
Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.
That's impressive, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?
Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections.
Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?
My family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.
Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?
He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was good-natured, which I suppose makes sense. It'd be weird 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 be strange if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”
I knew he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — like, that's cool — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was occupied, of course, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd flex and we'd be holding on. 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 coolest device, that distinctive classic 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 have a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.
Do you remember your days on set as being fun?
You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was new. That was the hot thing, and I was quite skilled. I was the youngest and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I could do it, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.
That Famous Quote
OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you know what you were saying?
At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I shouldn't normally say, but I was given approval in this case because it was comedic.
“She really wrestled with it.”
How it originated, based on what I was told, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were established early on, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, presumably it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.
