I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

The action icon is best known as an action movie legend. However, 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 35th anniversary this holiday season.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger plays a undercover cop who masquerades as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the story, the crime storyline functions as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to share adorable moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted rises and declares the stoic star, “It's boys who have a penis, females have a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. His career included a recurring role on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the child stars 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 a slate of movies in development. Furthermore, he is a regular on fan conventions. Not long ago discussed his recollections from the filming of the classic over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

Question: Starting off, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: My understanding is 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 have any memories from that time?

Yeah, a little bit. They're snapshots. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?

My parents, primarily my mom would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there for a very short time, read a small part they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have a specific memory of meeting Arnold? What was your feeling about him?

He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was pleasant, which arguably makes sense. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

“It would have been odd 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 barely seen his movies. I sensed the excitement — he was a big deal — but he wasn't scary to me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he was available. He was occupied, of course, 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 bought every kid in the classroom a yellow cassette player, 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 years on that thing on that thing. It wore out in time. I also was given 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 fun?

You know, it's amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, and it was a wonderful time, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the legendary director, visiting Astoria, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. 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 older kids would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I knew how, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all childhood recollections.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember anything about it? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word taboo meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, 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 were still developing characters. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they refined it on set and, reportedly someone in charge 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 answer immediately. She said, "Let me think about it, I need time" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she had doubts, but she believed it would likely become one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.