I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.

The Austrian Oak is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.

The Film and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who poses as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. Throughout the film's runtime, the crime storyline acts as a loose framework for the star to film humorous interactions with kids. Without a doubt the standout features a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and states the actor, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Schwarzenegger replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”

The young actor was brought to life by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the child stars and the character of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films on the horizon. He also frequently attends popular culture events. He recently discussed his experiences from the filming of the classic 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 don't recall being four. Do you have any memories from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. 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. Often it was a mass tryout. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to 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 extremely gentle. He was fun. He was good-natured, which arguably isn't too surprising. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was fun to be around.

“It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I understood he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I was eager to interact with him when he was available. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be holding on. He was really, really generous. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. 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 ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being fun?

You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the 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 meat from the top. Then, the Nintendo Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was pretty good at it. I was the youngest and some of the other children would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Infamous Moment

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember how it happened? Did you know what you were saying?

At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo 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 humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, from what I understand, was they hadn't finalized all the dialogue. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming 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 paused. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she thought it would likely become one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and she was right.