I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: An Interview.
The action icon is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also headlined several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its three-and-a-half decade milestone this December.
The Film and That Line
In the classic film, Schwarzenegger plays a tough police officer who poses as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the movie, the crime storyline acts as a basic structure for Schwarzenegger to share adorable scenes with children. Without a doubt the standout belongs to a little boy named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and informs the stoic star, “Males have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”
The boy behind the line was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. In addition to this part featured a character arc on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the child stars and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the screen translation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies in development. Furthermore, he engages with fans at fan conventions. Not long ago discussed his experiences from the production after all this time.
Memories from the Set
Q: To begin, 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.
Wow, I can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time?
Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections.
Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?
My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Often it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, when I became literate, that was the initial content I was reading.
Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?
He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which arguably makes sense. It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a productive set. He was great to work with.
“It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”
I was aware he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I sensed the excitement — it was exciting — but he didn't really intimidate me. He was simply playful and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd sometimes engage here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be holding on. He was incredibly giving. He bought every kid in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was the hottest tech. That 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 finally gave out. I also have a authentic coach's whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all received one too as well.
Do you remember your experience as being enjoyable?
You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was a major production, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, 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 finitely child at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the toppings only. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the coolest toy, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid 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 quite pleased with myself. So, it's all little kid memories.
The Line
OK, the penis and vagina line, do you remember the context? Did you understand the words?
At the time, I probably didn't know 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 wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was comedic.
“My mom thought hard about it.”
How it originated, according to family lore, was they were still developing characters. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't necessarily improv, but they developed it during shooting 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 paused. She said, "Let me think about it, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a day or two. She deliberated carefully. She said she had doubts, but she thought it could end up as one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.