🔗 Share this article I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back. The action icon is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, at the height 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 Film and An Iconic Moment In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. For much of the story, the procedural element acts as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to film humorous scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a student named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and states the stoic star, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.” The young actor was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he is a regular on the con circuit. He recently discussed his memories from the production over three decades on. Memories from the Set 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 impressive, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time? Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections. Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop? My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading. Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him? He was very kind. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was fun to be around. “It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.” I understood he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate 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 holding on. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well. Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable? You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, 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 toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all childhood recollections. That Famous Quote OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning? At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I was aware 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 was conceived, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. 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 really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she felt it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.
The action icon is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. But, at the height 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 Film and An Iconic Moment In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who goes undercover as a elementary educator to track down a criminal. For much of the story, the procedural element acts as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to film humorous scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a student named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and states the stoic star, “Males have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “Thanks for the tip.” The young actor was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the child who returns in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. Additionally, he is a regular on the con circuit. He recently discussed his memories from the production over three decades on. Memories from the Set 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 impressive, I have no memory from being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time? Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections. Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop? My parents, primarily my mom would take me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all just have to wait, be seen, be in there briefly, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading. Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him? He was very kind. He was playful. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a good work environment. He was fun to be around. “It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.” I understood he was a huge celebrity because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he didn't really intimidate 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 holding on. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. It was the hottest tech out there, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a real silver whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well. Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable? You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, 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 toppings only. Then, the original Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the youngest and some of the bigger kids would bring me their Game Boys to get past hard parts on games because I knew how, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all childhood recollections. That Famous Quote OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning? At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word shocking meant, but I understood it was edgy and it made adults laugh. I was aware 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 was conceived, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were written into the script, but once they had the kids together, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to say this. 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 really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she felt it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.