I Am the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: An Interview.
The action icon is best known as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, in the midst of his cinematic dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, he also delivered several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35-year mark this December.
The Story and An Iconic Moment
In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who masquerades as a schoolteacher to track down a criminal. During the film's runtime, the investigation plot functions as a loose framework for the star to have charming interactions with kids. The most unforgettable involves a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted rises and states the actor, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “Thank you for that information.”
The boy behind the line was played by child star Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a character arc on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the character of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also engages with fans at popular culture events. Not long ago shared his experiences from the filming of the classic after all this time.
Behind the Scenes
Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?
Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.
Wow, I don't recall being four. Do you remember anything from that time?
Yeah, somewhat. They're brief images. They're like mental photographs.
Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?
My family, especially my mother would accompany me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, enter the casting office, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.
Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?
He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was nice, which I suppose stands to reason. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was great to work with.
“It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”
I was aware he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he wasn't scary to me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the hottest tech out there, that distinctive classic yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.
Do you remember your experience as being positive?
You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, 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 finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to get past hard parts on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all childhood recollections.
The Line
OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you understand the words?
At the time, I probably didn't know what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it caused the crew to chuckle. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception 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. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting 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 agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took some time. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she felt it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.