(C) BoingBoing
This story was originally published by BoingBoing and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Whatever happened to the "Have You Ever Had a Dream" meme kid? [1]

['Jennifer Sandlin']

Date: 2025-08-04

I recently saw some terrific homages — like this one from Buckets the Drummer, this one from Drew on the Kit, and this keyboard mashup by Charles Cornell — to the "Have You Ever Had a Dream" meme, which made me wonder what ever happened to that sweet little boy who stumbled nervously through his big moment as he tried so hard to lay down some deep insight about dreams, but failed pretty spectacularly (and also incredibly charmingly!). It's one of my favorite memes, actually, because the kid just looks so eager and kind. Every time I watch it I sit at the edge of my seat in anticipation while I root for him to finish his question, and the clip never fails to bring me joy.

I was happy to find a short video from Buzzfeed Video, part of their "I Accidentally Became a Meme" series, featuring Joe Cirkiel, the "Have You Ever Had a Dream" boy, who is now a man. In the video, he explains that this whole journey started back in 1999 when he was 5 years old and a big fan of fantasy and action movies, and all things Disney, including one of his favorite movies, Hercules.

When he was in kindergarten, HBO decided to film a documentary featuring students at his school, and he and the other students were excited to perhaps be chosen by the producers. He recalls that in his interview, he was trying very hard because he had promised his mom he would do well enough to be featured in the film. He said he didn't have great answers to many of the questions, but knew he was about to shine when the producer asked him about dreams. In that moment, he remembered a scene from Hercules, where Hercules gives a speech about dreams, which served as the inspiration for his answer. He tried his absolute best to recite the speech, and at the time thought he had done pretty well — he said in the Buzz Feed Video, "My signature lean back and smile is just, like, yeah, I totally nailed that!" He also adds, though, "Suffice to say, I didn't come even close to what Hercules had to say about dreams." The interviewers responded with "deadpan" and "professional" reactions, telling him, "That was great, good job." And he believed them, as he remembers: "I definitely felt like what I said was really, really compelling."

A few months later, he and the other students featured in the film were invited by HBO to attend the premiere of the film in New York. To his surprise, his interview wasn't included in the movie itself, but was added as an outtake at the end of the film, and he recounts that as his part was being played, the whole audience started laughing. He was embarrassed and remembers being angry at the producers, thinking they had manipulated the film to make him look bad.

Some of his family members ended up buying the film on VHS, and he said he'd have to endure watching his clip at various family gatherings and birthday parties, but he was grateful that after a few years, interest died down and the film mostly disappeared from his life. It remained buried until he was in high school. In 2011, someone posted the clip on YouTube, and it quickly became a viral sensation. The link I watched, for instance, has 85 million views, and I'm sure it's not the only one out there.

I was happy to see that Joe has come around to thinking the whole thing is pretty funny, and is definitely a good sport about it. And at the end of the Buzzfeed Video, he finally gets to recite the Hercules speech he meant to give back when he was five. And let me tell you, he absolutely nails it! Great job, Joe!

Previously:

• 'Hide the Pain Harold' describes what it is like to become a famous meme

• JD Vance memes are still going strong and are better than ever

• The Simpsons' classic 'steamed hams' gag gets the deep meme treatment

• Shudder as you learn that Disney's live-action Hercules movie will draw influence from Tik Tok culture

• The live-action references for Disney's Hercules were amazing

• Who wins this 'Man-horse vs. goat' drum-off? Watch and see!

• 'Stacy's Mom' performed on bagpipes in the shower

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2025/08/04/whatever-happened-to-the-have-you-ever-had-a-dream-meme-kid.html

Published and (C) by BoingBoing
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/boingboing/