🔗 Share this article I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Candid Conversation. The action icon is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this winter. The Film and The Famous Scene In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. For much of the film's runtime, the crime storyline functions as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to share adorable moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout features a child named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and informs the actor, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.” That iconic child was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects in development. Furthermore, he frequently attends fan conventions. Not long ago recalled his experiences from the filming of the classic after all this time. A Young Actor's Perspective Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop? Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set. Wow, I can't remember being four. Do you remember anything from that time? Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections. Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop? My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words 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 very kind. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set. “It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.” I knew he was a big action star because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — he was a big deal — 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 occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well. Do you remember your time filming as being fun? 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 collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, 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 coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. 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 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 know what you were saying? At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny. “My mom thought hard about it.” How it was conceived, based on what I was told, 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 worked on it while filming and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.
The action icon is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, during the peak of his blockbuster fame in the late 20th century, he also starred in several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this winter. The Film and The Famous Scene In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a killer. For much of the film's runtime, the crime storyline functions as a loose framework for Schwarzenegger to share adorable moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout features a child named Joseph, who spontaneously announces and informs the actor, “Boys have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.” That iconic child was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a recurring role on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with several projects in development. Furthermore, he frequently attends fan conventions. Not long ago recalled his experiences from the filming of the classic after all this time. A Young Actor's Perspective Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop? Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set. Wow, I can't remember being four. Do you remember anything from that time? Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. They're like visual recollections. Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop? My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was an open call. There'd be dozens of children and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there less than five minutes, read a small part they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words 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 very kind. He was enjoyable. He was pleasant, which I suppose isn't too surprising. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that likely wouldn't create a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set. “It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.” I knew he was a big action star because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I felt the importance — he was a big deal — 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 occupied, of course, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would dangle from his limbs. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He gifted all the students in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It finally gave out. I also have a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well. Do you remember your time filming as being fun? 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 collaborating with Schwarzenegger, the direction of Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, being on a professional set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, 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 coolest toy, and I was quite skilled. 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 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 know what you were saying? At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was funny. “My mom thought hard about it.” How it was conceived, based on what I was told, 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 worked on it while filming and, I suppose someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Give me a moment, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. She deliberated carefully. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.