I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: An Interview.
The action icon is universally recognized as an action movie legend. However, at the height of his star power in the late 20th century, he also starred in several critically acclaimed comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this winter.
The Film and The Famous Scene
In the 1990 movie, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the story, the procedural element serves as a simple backdrop for the star to film humorous scenes with children. Arguably the most famous features a student named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and states the actor, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator deadpans, “I appreciate the insight.”
The boy behind the line was brought to life by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the famous sisters and the haunting part of the youngster who comes back in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He continues to act today, with multiple films in development. Furthermore, he frequently attends popular culture events. Not long ago discussed his experiences from the filming of the classic 35 years later.
Behind the Scenes
Question: Starting off, 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 don't recall being four. Do you remember anything from that time?
Yeah, somewhat. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.
Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop?
My family, especially my mother would take me to auditions. Sometimes it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all simply wait around, be seen, be in there for a very short time, do whatever little line they wanted and then leave. My parents would help me learn the words and then, when I became literate, that was some of the first material I was reading.
Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?
He was extremely gentle. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was a joy to have on set.
“It would have been odd 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 — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was merely entertaining and I only wanted to hang out with him when he had time. He was busy, obviously, but he'd kind of play with us here and there, and we would hang off of his arms. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was like an iPhone. It was the coolest device, 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 eventually broke. I also was given a real silver whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.
Do you remember your time filming as being positive?
You know, it's interesting, that movie was this cultural thing. It was such a big movie, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, as an adult, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For instance, they got everyone pizza, but I wasn't a pizza fan. All I would eat was the pepperoni off the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the hot thing, and I was proficient. I was the youngest 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 youthful anecdotes.
The Line
OK, the infamous quote, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?
At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word provocative meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was funny.
“My mom thought hard about it.”
How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were written into the script, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "I need to consider this, I need time" and took a day or two. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she thought it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and she was right.