I'm Known As the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Classic 1990 Film: An Interview.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, during the peak of his cinematic dominance in the eighties and nineties, he also delivered several surprisingly great comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which marks its 35th anniversary this December.
The Film and An Iconic Moment
In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a undercover cop who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate a fugitive. Throughout the story, the procedural element acts as a basic structure for Arnold to have charming interactions with kids. The most unforgettable belongs to a child named Joseph, who spontaneously rises and informs the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator responds dryly, “Thanks for the tip.”
That iconic child was brought to life by child star Miko Hughes. Beyond this role encompassed a notable part on Full House as the schoolyard menace to the famous sisters 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 multiple films on the horizon. He also engages with fans at fan conventions. Not long ago recalled his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop over three decades on.
Memories from the Set
Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?
Miko Hughes: I think I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.
That's remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?
Yeah, a little bit. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.
Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?
My mother, mainly would take me to auditions. Frequently it was like a cattle call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all simply wait around, go into the room, be in there less than five minutes, deliver a quick line they wanted and that's all. My parents would coach me on the dialogue and then, when I became literate, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.
Do you have any recollection of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?
He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was nice, which I suppose stands to reason. It would be strange if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was great to work with.
“It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom.”
I understood he was a big action star because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I only wanted to hang out with him when he wasn't busy. He was occupied, of course, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd flex and we'd be dangling there. He was exceptionally kind. He gifted all the students in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was like an iPhone. This was the coolest device, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the coach whistle, and the kids all got a whistle as well.
Do you remember your days on set as being enjoyable?
You know, it's interesting, that movie is such a landmark. It was a huge film, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of the star himself, the legendary director, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a finitely child at lunch. For example, 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 new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the bigger kids would ask for my help to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was really proud of that. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.
The Infamous Moment
OK, the infamous quote, do you remember the context? Did you know what you were saying?
At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what the word taboo meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I understood it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, 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 didn't have specific roles. Certain bits of dialogue were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they developed it during shooting and, reportedly the filmmakers 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, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. It was a tough call for her. She said she wasn't sure, but she felt it will probably be one of the most memorable lines from the movie and her instinct was correct.