🔗 Share this article I Was the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Look Back. The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. Yet, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this holiday season. The Role and An Iconic Moment In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who poses as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the story, the procedural element functions as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable scenes with children. The most unforgettable involves a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and declares the stoic star, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.” The boy behind the line was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a notable part on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the character of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects in development. He also is a regular on fan conventions. He recently discussed his experiences from the production over three decades on. A Young Actor's Perspective Interviewer: First, 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. Wow, I can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time? Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs. Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop? My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue 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 take on him? He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was pleasant, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set. “It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.” I understood he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun 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 cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. This 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 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 amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, 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, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all childhood recollections. The Line OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning? At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous. “It was a difficult decision for her.” How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.
The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an iconic tough guy. Yet, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. Chief among them is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this holiday season. The Role and An Iconic Moment In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a undercover cop who poses as a schoolteacher to locate a fugitive. During the story, the procedural element functions as a simple backdrop for the star to share adorable scenes with children. The most unforgettable involves a little boy named Joseph, who unprompted stands up and declares the stoic star, “Males have a penis, females have a vagina.” Arnold replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.” The boy behind the line was played by youth performer Miko Hughes. Beyond this role included a notable part on Full House as the bully to the Olsen twins and the character of the child who returns in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects in development. He also is a regular on fan conventions. He recently discussed his experiences from the production over three decades on. A Young Actor's Perspective Interviewer: First, 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. Wow, I can't remember being four. Do you have any memories from that time? Yeah, somewhat. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs. Do you recall how you were cast in Kindergarten Cop? My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all just have to wait, go into the room, be in there for a very short time, deliver a quick line they wanted and that was it. My parents would coach me on the dialogue 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 take on him? He was incredibly nice. He was fun. He was pleasant, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set. “It'd be weird if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.” I understood he was a major movie star because my family informed me, but I had barely seen his movies. I felt the importance — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun 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 cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be hanging off. He was exceptionally kind. He purchased for each child in the classroom a Sony Walkman, which at the time was a major status symbol. This 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 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 amusing, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a major production, 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, the location shoot, the production design, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I avoided pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was just released. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would hand me their devices to pass certain levels on games because I could do it, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all childhood recollections. The Line OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning? At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word provocative meant, but I understood it was edgy and it got a big laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given approval in this case because it was humorous. “It was a difficult decision for her.” How it came about, according to family lore, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were established early on, but once they had the whole cast on the set, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they refined it on set and, presumably the filmmakers came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to deliver this dialogue. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "I need to consider this, let me sleep on it" and took a day or two. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she believed it will probably be one of the unforgettable moments from the movie and her instinct was correct.