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11%% ACTORS: List Film and TV Actors under "Individuals - Actors",
12%% unless you're talking about a project that involved multiple individuals.
13%% If it's an entry about an actor taking a particular role, or an actor's tendency over several roles,
14%% put it under "Individuals - Actors".
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16->''"People ask me why I'm playing in this picture. The answer is simple: Money, dear boy."''
17-->-- '''Creator/LaurenceOlivier''', on his role in ''Film/{{Inchon}}'' (full quote [[Quotes/MoneyDearBoy here]])
18
19Sometimes, undeniably famous, classical actors and actresses (or even loveable, talented, squeaky-clean child and/or teen actors/actresses) take roles in movies that are very against their type. Unlike the {{Classically Trained Extra}}s, who lament that their talent is being wasted, or the small but legitimate roles of the OneSceneWonder, or the OldShame of roles taken when it was the only work available, this trope covers actors who are completely fine with the situation. Why? [[TitleDrop Money, dear boy]].
20
21Obviously, movies are big business, and the right name at the top of the poster can be the difference between a hit and a flop. And it's hard to argue with the fact that, when offered buckets and buckets of cash for three weeks of shooting, anyone would be a fool not to take it. After all, acting is a volatile profession, as many starving artists can attest, and financial security for you and your family is nothing to turn from; it's not so much selling out, as selling ''well''. And furthermore, most creative professions are overcrowded: for every wealthy and successful artist who can afford to sniff at jobs that are 'beneath' them, there are ten or more underworked ones who would kill for a chance at the income. On a cynical note, considering the state the entertainment industry and economy are in today, you shouldn't be surprised to see this more often. Most actors have been seen sliding down the perceived hierarchy of the entertainment field, with the most common "step down" being for actors who primarily work in film suddenly "slumming it" by taking roles on television.
22
23Still, if you do too many of these, you run the risk of having a rather strange Website/IMDb record and irrevocably ruining your reputation as a creative thespian; so much potential and talent wasted. Some artists, however, can turn this to their advantage: a common reason cited by many successful artists who engage in this trope is that a high-paying job that doesn't greatly interest them means that they have more money to put into [[OneForTheMoneyOneForTheArt funding and appearing]] in lower-budget but more creatively appealing ones.
24
25To be clear, however, there is no shame at all for doing a movie for the money, and if the movie happens to be a great one, artistically or popularly, all the better. Even if it is for the money, the level can be kept high and professional and they can turn out something great (like the example with Coppola and ''Film/TheGodfather''). And just because an actor or director only took a movie for money doesn't mean they'll necessarily dislike the end result. Therefore, not all examples of this trope are supposed to mean that an actor sold out. They could have had a very good reason to accept a role for monetary reasons, such as needing the money to pay off loans or medical bills. If it ends up a mediocre, run of the mill production, that's also excusable. People in creative jobs need an income the same as anyone else, and in fact, many of the greatest popcorn flicks of all time are great primarily because the studio shelled out the money to get actors and directors who would rather be doing something else, but who were still prepared to give the audience a good performance.
26
27However, should a cash-in movie end up ''unwatchably bad'', both the audience and the critics are likely to be notably less forgiving than they would be while judging a bad movie with original, artistic premise marred by flawed execution. As a result, rather paradoxically, an artist who takes the job for the money is perhaps best trying to put in a decent (or at least entertaining) performance even in a movie that doesn't match up to their standards. Thus, they're likely to elicit more respect from the audience if they TookTheBadFilmSeriously or end up ChewingTheScenery with HamAndCheese than if they took the money but made it clear through their performance that they couldn't care less for anything but the paycheck.
28
29This is also the reason for the percentage of high-quality foreign artists appearing in American film and TV productions of varying quality: Hollywood, even at its most cheapskate, tends to pay much better than any other film industry in the world; and TV productions, with multi-million dollar deals and syndication checks (for shows that last long enough) commonplace, can allow you to be a lot more choosy for the next few years.
30
31Similar to getting a healthy paycheck, some actors will just want to do something "[[SoMyKidsCanWatch their kids can watch]]", the kind of roles most actors seek usually being dark and not appropriate for minors.
32
33A common theme—especially among older actors and actresses—stems from growing up during hard economic conditions, either from a poor economy as a whole or from family hardships. The fear that "The Next Job" may not come, as it often failed to do for their family, drives them to take roles they might not otherwise be interested in. And, again, they're not exaggerating: any actor, young and old, always deals with extremely uneven income flow with absolutely no hard guarantees for the future.
34
35There's also the common practice of recognizable actors turning up in indie films of varying quality "for scale". The term "for scale" means the minimum daily rate for actors guaranteed by the Screen Actors Guild, thus the opposite of this trope. When more notable actors do this, it's usually because they wanted to establish themself in a dramatic role (like the example with Creator/DakotaFanning and ''Film/{{Hounddog}}'', where her character infamously ''got raped''). This doesn't stop them from becoming controversial among people, though.
36
37As a general rule, if a recognizable name turns up in a movie featured on [=MST3K=] or [=RiffTrax=] or a "pretentious" low-budget indie film, or has a UsefulNotes/GoldenRaspberryAward nomination for one of their films listed in their "Accolades" section on Wikipedia, this trope is almost certainly why.
38
39Compare and contrast DoingItForTheArt (when artistic value and/or achievement is the primary motivator), and AwesomeDearBoy (when the actor takes the role for the coolness of it, regardless of how crappy the work is), VacationDearBoy (where they work on the project so they can go to a special location) and OneForTheMoneyOneForTheArt (where a creator uses the money earned from a purely commercial project to finance one that's more personal and artistic).
40
41See also ContractualObligationProject, PayingTheirDues, IWasYoungAndNeededTheMoney (when this trope is given as the excuse for OldShame), QuestionableCasting, and TookTheBadFilmSeriously. Not to be confused with OnlyInItForTheMoney, which is when this is the excuse a character uses ''in-story''.
42
43Also notice that if a great actor is in a crappy movie, it doesn't necessarily mean that he's in it just for the money; contrast AwesomeDearBoy and SoMyKidsCanWatch.
44
45----
46!!Examples
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48[[foldercontrol]]
49
50[[folder:Individuals -- Actors (A-F)]]
51%%
52%% ACTORS: List Film and TV Actors under "Individuals - Actors",
53%% unless you're talking about a project that involved multiple individuals.
54%% If it's an entry about an actor taking a particular role, or an actor's tendency over several roles,
55%% put it under "Individuals - Actors".
56%%
57* Bud Abbott only agreed to voice himself in the ''Abbott and Costello'' cartoon because he owed money to [[IntimidatingRevenueService the IRS]].
58* Creator/KareemAbdulJabbar appeared in ''Film/{{Airplane}}'' because the role paid for an expensive rug he wished to purchase. He even negotiated a raise for himself to cover the cost of the rug (they offered him $30,000; the rug cost $35,000). It paid off, though, as the movie is now considered a classic.
59* Joss Ackland said that his money woes were the only reason he appeared in the movie ''Passion of Mind'', which he called 'awful'.
60* Arab-American comedian and actor Ahmed Ahmed has a [[https://youtu.be/eA2-mxsMUtw stand-up bit]] where he talks about getting offered the role of Terrorist #4 in a [[Film/ExecutiveDecision Hollywood movie]] (after [[SpringtimeForHitler attempting to troll the audition]] by playing the role as mockingly over-the-top as possible). Ahmed describes that his first reaction was to reject the role on principle because every time an ethnic actor takes a stereotypical role, it just perpetuates the problem... until his agent informed him that he would be paid $30,000 for a week of work, at which point he [[EveryManHasHisPrice promptly signed on.]]
61* Creator/StephenAmell was ready to leave ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' after Season 7 but agreed to one more season after he was offered a deal that was too lucrative to pass up.
62* In his book ''There And Back Again: An Actor's Tale'', Creator/SeanAstin talks at length about reconciling the conflict between the desire as an actor to do serious, important work, and the need to pay the bills by doing things like ''Film/EncinoMan''.
63* Creator/JohnBarrowman stated this as his only reason for appearing in ''Film/SharkAttack3Megalodon''.
64* One notable exception: Creator/KimBasinger backed out of the production of ''Film/BoxingHelena'', and as a result was sued for eight million dollars (later settled for "just" $3.8 million). Basinger was forced to enter bankruptcy.
65* Creator/HalleBerry:
66** This was her declared motivation for starring in ''Film/ExecutiveDecision''. It evidently had nothing to do with the quality of the film itself (she simply didn't want to do it) but changed her mind when Warner Bros. offered her a $1 million salary for the role of a stewardess who helps the team. She quickly signed up for it.
67** Berry received a $500,000 bonus on top of her base salary for ''Film/{{Swordfish}}'' in exchange for agreeing to bare her breasts on-camera. (Giving new meaning to FanserviceExtra)
68** She received a record salary for appearing in ''Film/Catwoman2004'', which flopped at the box office. She accepted the "Worst Actress" [[UsefulNotes/GoldenRaspberryAward Razzie]] with her Oscar (for ''Monster's Ball'') in her other hand. This film has a strange history; before Berry was attached it was a generic superhero film. After getting her, it became a vanity film for Berry, and they shoehorned in the Catwoman angle. Perhaps Money, Dear Boy was at work when DC Comics allowed their trademarked name to be used in a film they had no input to. It really didn't help that the actual Catwoman character was off-limits because of the possibility she would appear in [[Film/TheDarkKnightRises another Batman movie]].
69* Creator/PaulBettany's growing family must be the reason he made ''Film/{{Legion}}'' and ''Film/{{Priest|2011}}''. He even pulled out of the lead role in ''Film/TheKingsSpeech'' (which won Creator/ColinFirth an Oscar) to do the latter. Or perhaps for AwesomeDearBoy, as he has an entry there for ''Legion'' as well. Possibly both. And in a more quality product, but admittedly done for cash: the voice of Jarvis in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse.
70-->[[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news/a430972/paul-bettany-ive-never-seen-any-of-the-iron-man-movies-video.html I feel like a pirate. This is robbery. I walk in, I say some lines on a piece of paper for two hours, and then they give me a bag of money and I leave and I go about my day. I sort of feel guilty, because at least acting can be exhausting, with long hours… but I do nothing! And I've never seen one of them.]]
71** Once Bettany got upgraded to a more physical role as Vision in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', he joked that [[http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/the_avengers_2_paul_bettany_jarvis_vision_age_of_ultron-2014-08 "now they want me to work for my money versus turn up for 45 minutes in a darkened studio and [act] Jarvis"]].
72* Creator/AngelaBettis said that this is why she took the title role in Creator/{{NBC}}'s [[MadeForTVMovie made-for-TV]] [[TheRemake remake]] of ''Literature/{{Carrie}}''. Specifically, the film was intended as a PilotMovie for a ''Carrie'' TV series (which ultimately didn't get picked up due to the film's disappointing ratings), and she took the role hoping it would lead to the sort of steady paycheck that working on a TV show provides.
73* In a behind the scenes featurette for ''VideoGame/FarCry3BloodDragon'', Creator/MichaelBiehn stated that he did Rex Colt's voice work for a paycheck and not much else. However, much like the game itself, the featurette was very tongue-in-cheek, and Biehn also said he had quite a lot of fun recording the more...[[ClusterFBomb colorful]] lines of his character.
74* About ''Series/HaveGunWillTravel'', Creator/RichardBoone said:
75-->"It was a ridiculous thing, but I don't ever have to worry about money. As a result of playing Paladin, I have what is known to actors as a lot of go-to-hell money."
76* Creator/CharlesBronson's whole career. After an early life of extremely unpleasant and menial jobs, he took a stab at acting simply because he thought it looked like an easy way to make money. Even after he became the best-paid actor in the world, he described himself as "a product, like a cake of soap to be sold." In all of his interviews, he insisted that he had no opinions about the movies he appeared in or the roles he played. He simply memorized his lines and performed as needed.
77* Bevin Bru, known mainly for her role as Angelique "Angie" Martin on ''Series/Batwoman2019'' largely took roles ''because'' of this trope, with most of her roles being small ones, mainly co-starring, taken as she was starting out; she's only been acting since 2012. She's admitted to it as not being a bad thing.
78* In Rock Brynner's book ''Yul: The Man Who Would Be King'', this sentiment is expressed by Creator/YulBrynner to his son. Due to a combination of factors (including unscrupulous film studios, his absence from the U.S. and an increasing reliance on maintaining his property), Yul was content to take any role as long as it offered a paycheck. He turned in roles in scores of schlocky films, and would always note to his son that because the studios and government felt compelled to try to screw him over at every opportunity, he could do the same thing to make money on projects that were beneath his star power.
79* In an interview promoting the film ''28 Days'' (no, not [[Film/TwentyEightDaysLater that one]]), the interviewer asked Creator/SandraBullock why she chose to star in it. She promptly answered that she needed the money. The interviewer started to laugh but stopped short when he noticed Ms. Bullock was serious.
80* Creator/RichardBurton made a career of it. The accomplished actor who did ''Film/{{Becket}}'', ''Literature/TheSpyWhoCameInFromTheCold'' and ''Theatre/{{Equus}}'' also starred in ''Film/TheKlansman'', ''The Assassination of Trotsky'', ''Candy'', '''Film/Bluebeard1972'',''Film/ExorcistIITheHeretic''...
81* Creator/SteveBuscemi will not turn down a high-paying role. When asked about his appearance in ''Film/Armageddon1998'', he replied, "I wanted a bigger house."
82* Creator/JamesCaan told any media person he could at the time that he did ''Film/AlienNation'' purely for the money.
83* Creator/NicolasCage likes to spend his cash, [[http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/11/17/nicolas.cage.lawsuit/ to the point he declared bankruptcy in 2009.]] Along with selling properties (which include ''a castle in France''), he started taking many roles afterward that can be perfectly explained with "I need to finish off my debt with the IRS."
84* Creator/MichaelCaine, who has stated: "First of all, I choose the great roles, and if none of these come, I choose the mediocre ones, and if they don't come, I choose the ones that pay the rent." He disliked playing Hoagie in ''Film/JawsTheRevenge'' -- his work on the film also prevented him from attending the ceremony where he would've been awarded his first Oscar. After his work on ''Jaws IV'', Caine would turn down offers like this, but later agreed to an appearance in the poorly-received [[Film/{{Bewitched}} film version of]] ''Film/{{Bewitched}}'' likely for this reason. Caine later said in regards to ''Jaws IV'' that "I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house it built, and it is terrific."
85* In one game of "Scenes from a Hat" on ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'', where the scene in question was "rejected names for Whose Line", Wayne suggested "Drew Carey's House Payment".
86* Creator/JohnCarradine partook heavily in this trope. On the stage, he played Hamlet. On the screen, he played any role as long as it paid well, with a filmography ranging from all-time classics to poorly-received B- and Z-movies like ''Film/RedZoneCuba'', ''Vampire Men of the Lost Planet'' and ''Film/FrankensteinIsland''. His son Creator/DavidCarradine followed in his footsteps.
87* Creator/JackieChan has a tendency with this trope.
88** He admits that he did appear in a porno film to get by several years before he became famous.
89** He originally did his own stunts because it meant he brought home a little more money every week. Over time this became his trademark.
90** He continues doing big-budget Hollywood movies for this reason, despite not really getting the "American humor" and accusations by the Asian-American community that he's "selling out" by playing the funny Chinese man. The massive salary enables him to fund his Asian movies as well as continue his charitable work. He has said he prefers the indie Hong Kong dramas that he works on, such as ''Film/ShinjukuIncident'', which his Hollywood films help pay for.
91* Creator/ChevyChase with ''Series/{{Community}}''. Despite the critical acclaim and devoted fanbase, Chase made little secret of his discontent with being on the show, creator Creator/DanHarmon, and sitcoms in general ("the lowest form of television"). He stated outright that the paycheck and his cast members were the only things that kept him around. He finally left the show after four seasons. (Ironically, number four was the [[SeasonalRot de-Harmonized season]], and he also quit because [[JerkassHasAPoint he was irritated with the]] {{Flanderization}} [[JerkassHasAPoint that Pierce had suffered]].)
92* A combination of this and AwesomeDearBoy is why Creator/JessicaChastain lent her voice to ''WesternAnimation/Madagascar3EuropesMostWanted'':
93-->There was a couch I wanted to buy and I had no time in my schedule to do another film. I was doing so much press last year[[note]]for ''Film/TheTreeOfLife'', ''Film/TheHelp'' and ''Film/TakeShelter''[[/note]], thinking, "How am I going to pay my rent?" Also, I had to buy a new couch. My agent said, "I don't know if you're interested, but they're having auditions for an animated film..." I've always wanted to do an animated film... So I went in and auditioned and then I got the call that I got the part. [[RuleOfThree And I got the couch!]]
94* Creator/JohnCleese founded the company Video Arts to make corporate training videos. When asked why, he said it was because he discovered that businesses would pay loads of money for him to do the things he did well, write and act.
95* Creator/GeorgeClooney keeps a picture of himself from ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' in his office to remind himself to never take anything solely for the money ever again but says he doesn't regret making the movie.
96* Creator/GlennClose [[http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/scifi/glenn-close-admits-shes-guardians-galaxy-paycheck.html said she only did]] ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'' for this. Though she also admitted [[AwesomeDearBoy it seemed like a fun experience]], and even signed a contract to appear in more Marvel movies.
97* Ray Combs hosted ''Series/FamilyChallenge'' because he was deep in debt from his comedy clubs closing, a car accident, and being let go from ''Series/FamilyFeud''.
98* Creator/PeterCook agreed to do a US TV pilot purely for the money, believing it wouldn't sell -- but unfortunately (for him) ''The Two of Us'' (a TransAtlanticEquivalent of the British comedy ''Two's Company'') sold and became his only sitcom on either side of the Atlantic.
99* Creator/DanielCraig made no secret in interviews and public statements that he came to despise his casting as Film/JamesBond in the films following ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'', to the point where he was seriously considering quitting the role in the aftermath of ''Film/{{Spectre}}''. However, he was lured back to reprising the role one last time for ''Film/NoTimeToDie'', which, reportedly, he did so only when he was offered a ''very'' lucrative paycheck.
100* Creator/JoanCrawford, for much of her life, was an in-demand actress who reigned at the box office. However, after she got fired from ''Film/HushHushSweetCharlotte'', originally intended to be the SpiritualSuccessor to ''Film/WhateverHappenedToBabyJane'', it seems that she found her star power fading, and once she was ousted from the board of Pepsi, formerly run by her deceased husband, she needed money more than anything. She went from dramatic leading roles to appearing in various B-grade horror films produced by Creator/WilliamCastle or Herman Cohen, as well as appearances in several short-lived television series. In particular, she only did the film ''This Woman Is Dangerous'' because her house had a mortgage and her children were in school.
101* Creator/DavidCross has been very upfront about the fact that his participation in the ''Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' franchise has been motivated by money, noting his salary from the first film was more money than any of his other projects had ever brought in combined and helped him buy a new house. However, it apparently wasn't enough for him to return for the fourth film after his contractually obligated three, as Cross called ''Chipwrecked'' "the most unpleasant experience I've ever had in my professional life," and he even asked people to not watch it in theaters on ''Conan''.
102* Creator/JamieLeeCurtis had this to say about ''Film/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater'' in 2018: "H20 started out with best intentions, but it ended up being a money gig. The film had some good things in it. It talked about alcoholism and trauma, but I ended up really doing it for the paycheck."
103* Creator/CharlesDance has done some films he's not proud of. In a quote taken from the ''London Evening Standard'' he said "I've done some appalling films. Junk is absolutely the right word. You do what you can with the stuff you're given. It's a misconception that actors make choices. For all but the most privileged few, the only choice is to work or not to work." He said of playing [[BigBad Sardo Numspa]] in ''Film/TheGoldenChild'', "It put the old bank balance up a bit!"
104* When asked why he did ''Film/{{Stargate}}'', Jaye Davidson said, "I needed the money."
105** Originally, he had no intention of acting again after ''Film/TheCryingGame''. So when he was offered a role in ''Stargate'', he insisted on a $1 million salary, figuring there'd be no way they'd be willing to pay him that much. But his offer was accepted, and he decided that it'd be nice to have some financial security, so he took the role.
106** Ditto for [[http://www.gateworld.net/movies/01.shtml James Spader]], who found the script "awful".
107* Creator/DorisDay's sole foray into series television ''The Doris Day Show'' (1968-73) owes its existence to this trope. And her late husband[[note]]Who had her signed her to do the series '''without''' her knowledge had left her financially destitute. [[FromBadToWorse And she owed the IRS a ton in back taxes]].
108* This was originally the reason why Creator/JohnDeLancie took the role of Discord in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. He had completely forgotten about the role, recorded months earlier, by the time the fan mail started pouring in. Upon interacting with the fanbase, he changed his mind somewhat, and not only expressed willingness to reprise his role, but also brought his own connections and resources to help make a documentary about the fans (though he was ''not'' happy when 4chan uploaded said film onto The Pirate Bay just to spite him, and the combination of that plus a horrible convention experience -- where he and the other actors didn't get paid -- led him to break off contact again).
109* Creator/JulieDelpy stated that she only made ''Film/AnAmericanWerewolfInParis'' because "I got paid a lot of money; let's face it, a girl's got to eat." Delpy admitted it was " just a campy, stupid little movie", but despite the experience being so miserable that she remained away from Hollywood, she says it's not an OldShame because "it allowed me to spend time writing".
110* Starting in the New [=10s=], Creator/RobertDeNiro's film output suddenly increased, with several lower-tier projects appearing in his filmography. Legal proceedings eventually revealed that he started taking such work to pay off back taxes and support his estranged wife.
111* Creator/GerardDepardieu stars in an average of 3.6 movies a year, most of them probably to pay his bills. There's a rhyming lament of the American foreign film fan that goes: "I fear I shall never view, a French film without Depardieu." Admittedly, it rhymes only if you pronounce him incorrectly.
112* Creator/JohnnyDepp for four seasons of his six-season contract on ''Series/TwentyOneJumpStreet''.
113* Creator/StephenDillane has admitted in an interview that he didn't understand ''Series/GameOfThrones'', and that he only did it for the money.
114* Creator/BradDourif admits to pretty much taking any role he can for a paycheck.
115-->"I'm a whore. If they have a check and camera and a script and stuff for me to say, I am mostly there, unless I just can't take it."
116* Why Lesley-Anne Down played Stephanie Rogers on ''Series/{{Dallas}}'':
117-->(T)hey paid me a quarter of a million dollars for seven days' work over ten weeks. What do you think I am, darling? Stupid?!
118* During an online chat about the 2006 ''Film/{{Poseidon}}'' remake, Creator/RichardDreyfuss outright admitted he did the film for the money, answering the questions "What attracted you to this film?" with "The money" and "Did anything in particular stand out about it?" with "The money they were offering me." His paycheck for the film was enough for him to take a break from acting and [[http://www.movieweb.com/news/richard-dreyfuss-answers-an-age-old-question-with-poseidon teach for a few years]], although at the time he said he was done for good.
119* For ''Film/{{Get Carter|1971}}'', Creator/BrittEkland was afraid of becoming typecast, having already played two gangster's molls before this. She was also reluctant to take the part as she did not want to take her clothes off; however, she had financial problems at the time as a result of bad investment decisions by her accountant. She was later happy that she had been involved with the project.
120* Creator/JacobElordi admitted in a 2023 interview with ''GQ'' he mostly took the role of Noah in ''Film/TheKissingBooth'' trilogy because he needed a job and wanted to break into American films and TV, and didn't think too highly of the story and script. He stated that he tried to avoid accepting too many roles for this reason afterwards, as he would much prefer to be involved in projects he finds genuinely interesting.
121-->'''[[https://www.gq.com/story/jacob-elordi-men-of-the-year-cover-2023 Elordi]]:''' That one's a trap as well. Because it can become 15 for them, none for you. You have no original ideas and you're dead inside. So it's a fine dance. My 'one for them,' I've done it.
122* Creator/AliMacGraw said this is why she did ''Series/Dynasty1981''.
123* Creator/JoseFerrer, who went from an Oscar-winning performance in ''Cyrano de Bergerac'', and acclaimed films like ''Film/{{Moulin Rouge|1952}}'' (1952), ''Film/TheCaineMutiny'' and ''Film/LawrenceOfArabia'', to roles in ''Film/TheSwarm1978'', ''Film/Dune1984'' and ''Film/DraculasDog'', alongside television work of variable quality. Citing financial woes as the reason for such a dismal resume, Ferrer commented that "I made a few good movies in the '50s, then went into freefall."
124* Creator/HenryFonda went from appearing in heralded classics like ''Film/YoungMrLincoln'', ''Literature/TheGrapesOfWrath'' and ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest'' to doing B-movies like ''Film/TheSwarm1978'' and ''Film/{{Meteor}}'' as a result of this trope.
125* Creator/HarrisonFord is still one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood (even though he's in semi-retirement), earning tens of millions per year on projects like ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'' and ''Film/CowboysAndAliens''. Yet, he's also spent a large amount of time camping it up in films like ''Film/HollywoodHomicide'', ''Film/{{Firewall}}'' and ''Film/K19TheWidowmaker'' (which he received a record salary for). He's also starred in {{Japandering}} commercials for ''VideoGame/Uncharted3DrakesDeception''. It's a safe bet that if he isn't starring in an indie film, he's probably doing it for the paycheck.
126** Especially confirmed in the case of ''Film/{{Firewall}}''; "I had to do it. They gave me so much money, it would've just been rude."
127** When promoting ''Film/EndersGame'' on ''Series/TheTonightShow'', [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Leno Jay Leno]] asked Ford about his involvement with ''Film/TheExpendables3''. Ford said "They asked me if I wanted to be in the movie, they gave me a reason that I should be...", to which Leno responded by rubbing his thumbs and fingers together, signifying "money". Ford nodded in response and said "That's a good enough reason."
128** He made absolutely no secret that this was the reason he came back to play [[Franchise/StarWars Han Solo]] in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' and Franchise/IndianaJones a fifth time.
129* Creator/MichaelJFox said that after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991, his thinking during that time was "I'd better do as much movies as I can before I can no longer act", and started accepting whatever roles he was offered.
130* Creator/MorganFreeman said he only did ''Film/BatmanBegins'' for the money. The fact that that movie and its two sequels, ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' and ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', in which he also appeared, turned out to be successful financially and critically may have been a nice surprise for him.
131* [[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9658014/ Phoebe French]] admitted her role as Evie Fletcher on ''Series/HolbyCity'' was partially this and partially AwesomeDearBoy. However, she only has a short IMDB record, having been acting since 2019.
132[[/folder]]
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134[[folder:Individuals -- Actors (G-M)]]
135%%
136%% ACTORS: List Film and TV Actors under "Individuals - Actors",
137%% unless you're talking about a project that involved multiple individuals.
138%% If it's an entry about an actor taking a particular role, or an actor's tendency over several roles,
139%% put it under "Individuals - Actors".
140%%
141* Creator/AvaGardner made it clear this was why she did ''Film/TheCassandraCrossing''.
142* Creator/RichardGere told Barbara Walters that he appeared in ''Film/AnOfficerAndAGentleman'' for the money.
143* Creator/JohnGielgud: [[MediaNotes/TheEGOTs Emmy winner. Grammy winner. Oscar winner. Tony winner]]. Acclaimed actor and director. Knight of the realm. Connoisseur of [[https://youtu.be/bhZv8aIr55k fine champagne]]. By one account, he was paid one million dollars for a single day's work.
144** He originally and consistently refused to star in ''Film/{{Arthur 1981}}'', but the producers kept upping his fee until he really couldn't turn it down. In the end, he won an Academy Award for the role. He returned for a cameo in the sequel, presumably for even ''more'' money. Despite the acclaim that he received, Gielgud stated that he didn't find any of the material even slightly funny or interesting.
145** By most accounts, Gielgud thought little of film acting generally and mainly took roles for money, regardless of their quality. Which explains his participation in ''WesternAnimation/QuestForCamelot''.
146* Creator/DannyGlover has over 100 credits on his resume, and most after 1998 (''Film/LethalWeapon4'', ''Film/{{Beloved}}'', voice roles on ''Westernanimation/{{Antz}}'', ''Westernanimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'' and ''WesternAnimation/AlphaAndOmega'', his appearance in ''Film/SawI'') seem like they were chosen only to get a paycheck.
147* This is why it was said about Creator/WhoopiGoldberg that "nobody like a paycheck like her." On the other hand, she's one of only sixteen people to win the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony.)
148** Goldberg hadn't even been the first choice for ''Film/SisterAct'' (which was conceived as a vehicle for Creator/BetteMidler) but the movie was such a huge hit that she was immediately approached to star in a sequel. She agreed in exchange for not only $7 million but also studio financing for a pet project of hers, a film adaptation of the stage musical ''Sarafina!''.
149** Creator/KimBasinger's situation after backing out of ''Film/BoxingHelena'' was the main reason Goldberg settled for a massive paycheck on ''Film/TheodoreRex''. She agreed to do it, saw the script, tried walking out, and decided "rich and ashamed" beat "broke and principled". She even negotiated a raise for herself, being paid $7 million (a hike from the $5 million she was originally promised), which must have looked nice against the $20 million lawsuit she would have faced had she dropped out.
150* Reportedly, when Creator/BobcatGoldthwait was given a script of the movie ''Film/HotToTrot'', he wrote "Why would I do this?" on the cover. His agent responded by drawing a dollar sign over it.
151* Matthew Goode said that ''Film/{{Leap Year|2010}}'' was "turgid" and the only reasons he did it were for money and so he could see his family more often.
152* Music/SelenaGomez's appearance as Faith (the {{Deuteragonist}}) in Harmony Korine's ''Film/SpringBreakers'' was mainly down to the paycheck; she hasn't been in many films outside of her own music videos apart from ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania'' SpinOff movies (which is more DoingItForTheArt as a voice actor than the paycheck). In addition, she executive produced the 2019 documentary ''Living Undocumented'' "exclusively for the paycheck, nothing more, nothing less".
153* In an interview prior to production of ''Film/PoliceAcademy 2: Their First Assignment'', David Graf (who played Eugene Tackleberry) said he'd gladly sign on for as many ''Police Academy'' films as they planned to make for the sake of a good paycheck, having come to appreciate the financial upside to movie work while attending a swanky Hollywood party, and at the same time discussing with his wife how their utilities were about to be cut off. True to his word, Graf appeared in all seven films.
154* Creator/HughGrant, after considering himself semi-retired for many years, suddenly started appearing in a number of TV series. This was because he'd worked with Simon Helberg on ''Film/FlorenceFosterJenkins'' and was initially dismissive of Helberg for being a sitcom actor before realizing how much money the man was making off of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' and suddenly wanting a bit of that delicious TV money for himself.
155** In the filming of ''Film/{{Wonka}}'', Hugh Grant absolutely ''loathed'' playing the Oompa-Loompa, whether it was the way he wasn't sure how the camera was capturing his movement, the feeling of the mocap suit, or just the general feeling of the character. He gave an [[https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/12/hugh-grant-hated-being-an-oompa-loompa-obviously interview]] in ''Vanity Fair'' with a sidenote about how he kind of hates making movies even at the best of times, but the money's at least good and he's got kids to support.
156* Creator/LeeGrant appeared in ''Film/TheSwarm1978'' for this reason. She later lampshaded this by titling her memoir ''I Said Yes To Everything''.
157* Creator/FrankGrillo only participated in the poorly-received 2018 action film ''Reprisal'' to get money for his garden.
158* Sir Creator/AlecGuinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi in ''Franchise/StarWars'' is one of the most notable examples of this trope ever. His contract was for 2% of Lucas' own 1/5 share of the film's gross earnings, which ended up (unexpectedly, to most observers) being among the most lucrative film deals ever made. This tempered his later opinion of the film; he [[IAmNotSpock deeply resented being identified with a film he vocally didn't respect]], but had to admit he [[DoingItForTheArt owed his later ability to be very picky with roles]] to the resulting financial independence. Guinness and his estate have made tens of millions of dollars off the saga in the years hence.
159* Many of Creator/GeneHackman's roles were like this. A good example was the film ''Lucky Lady'', which was a film that he didn't even want to do until Fox offered him $1.25 million (a lot of money in 1975) to make it. He decided that it would be obscene not to take the offer and accepted the part. ''Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace'' was another one -- he admitted to co-star Jon Cryer that that was the main reason he signed on, supposedly even saying the trope name verbatim.
160* British actress [[https://www.tvovermind.com/5-things-didnt-know-abigail-hardingham/ Abigail Hardingham]] (sometimes credited as Abi Hardingham) has appeared in many BritishSeries, some of which didn't get good ratings from critics, but admitted that if the paycheck was ''good'', she'd do it. She's been acting since she was 16 during the TurnOfTheMillennium, making her career OlderThanTheyThink for many.
161* Creator/RichardHarris took on a third-billed role in ''Film/MutinyOnTheBounty1962'' for a hefty paycheck, [[AwesomeDearBoy a chance to act opposite Marlon Brando]] and [[VacationDearBoy a free trip to Tahiti]].
162** He took on the title role in ''Film/{{Cromwell}}'', a casting choice that raised many eyebrows, as he was a hedonistic proudly patriotic Irishman playing a puritan who once committed genocide in Ireland. The salary was simply too good to pass up.
163** Later in his career, Harris often appeared in second-rate films such as ''Film/TarzanTheApeMan1981'' and ''Film/StrikeCommandoII''.
164* This is why ''{{Series/Deadwood}}'' star John Hawkes played what was essentially a bit part in season six of ''Series/{{Lost}}'' -- his role was literally just repeating what another actor said and for that, he got paid a lot and filmed in Hawaii.
165* As an actor, Creator/LanceHenriksen has appeared in well over 100 films. Many of these are favorites of critics and moviegoers alike (''Film/{{Aliens}}'', ''Film/TheTerminator'', ''Film/CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKind'', ''Film/NearDark''). Many more, however, weren't as well-received (''Film/PiranhaPartTwoTheSpawning'', ''Vampires: Out For Blood'' and ''Film/HellraiserHellworld'' to name but a few). He even worked in a Brazilian soap opera about mutants. Henriksen is a king of direct-to-DVD and seems to specialize in mostly low budget sci-fi, horror, fantasy, or action flicks -- films in which he is very often the only notable actor on board. He's appeared in multiple {{mockbuster}}s of pre-existing popular franchises (e.g. ''The Da Vinci Treasure'' and ''Pirates Of Treasure Island'', both released in 2006) has provided voice duties for many animated series and video games, appeared in adverts and also found time along the way to star in Creator/ChrisCarter's pseudo-''[[Series/TheXFiles X-Files]]'' spinoff series ''Series/Millennium1996'' for three years. Henriksen has admitted to taking some less-than-stellar roles for the money because he owed alimony to his ex-wife.
166* German film director Creator/WernerHerzog took the role of The Client in ''Series/TheMandalorian'' solely to finance his next film project, admitting that he had never seen any ''Star Wars'' property beyond a trailer or two. However, he has stated he enjoyed the role and series, being very effusive with his praise for all involved.
167* Eamonn Holmes explained his appearance on ''Series/{{Mongrels}}'' by saying he didn't even look at the script, only the fee.
168* Creator/JulianHolloway later admitted he only appeared in ''Film/CarryOnEngland'' for some extra money during a theatre tour.
169* Creator/AnthonyHopkins said it in an interview on Creator/ConanOBrien. Conan said to Anthony that "some actors choose movies based on who they'll be working with, or who's catering the set. What makes you choose a movie?" Hopkins' response was "Well, money." After the major success of ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'', Hopkins' very next movie was (drum roll) ''Film/{{Freejack}}''!
170* When Creator/DennisHopper was asked by his younger son on why he appeared in poorly-received productions such as ''Film/SuperMarioBros1993'', he replied it was to buy him shoes. His son replied he [[http://kotaku.com/5079261/why-the-hell-dennis-hopper-did-that-mario-movie didn't need them that much]]. Hopper probably starred in the box-office flop ''Meet The Deedles'' for the same reason.
171* Creator/BobHoskins said that ''Film/SuperMarioBros1993'' was the only movie he did for the money.
172* Music/IceT recalled one interview on a hip-hop show where the host made fun of him for doing ''Film/TankGirl''. He replied, "I was paid $800,000 for that movie." The host moved on.
173* In his comedy special in Hawaii, Creator/GabrielIglesias mentioned that when he signed on to do a show in Singapore, he was unaware that English is actually the dominant language there. When asked why he would agree to do a show when he didn't even know if they spoke English, he replies, "Because the check was ''fat''. And I'm a little whore."
174** Invoked with his performances in Saudi Arabia, which he initially thought was a joke offer. He told his agent to ask for a ridiculous amount of money -- to be transferred ''that day'' -- to make sure they were serious. The result? "Hey Gabe, Ridiculous just called back."
175** He's spoken about the downside of this, describing a voice-over gig that he took solely because he was offered a lot of money, only to feel awful at the end because the voice director pushed him into portraying an ethnic stereotype.
176* Creator/JeremyIrons' appearances in ''Film/DungeonsAndDragons2000'' and ''Film/{{Eragon}}'' are motivated either by this or a desire to be [[FascinatingEyebrow out-acted by his eyebrows.]] It's a toss-up. According to Wikiquote, when asked why he took his ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role, Irons replied: "Are you kidding? I'd just bought a castle, I had to pay for it somehow!"
177** Jeremy has said that he frequently does movies only to pay for his castle. He also did ''Film/BeautifulCreatures'' to pay for the castle.
178* Creator/MichaelIronside has never made any bones about the fact that he takes jobs based on the pay he's offered, and once joked that he took his role as TheDragon in ''Film/{{Total Recall|1990}}'' because he wanted to buy his oldest daughter a new car for her 16th birthday.
179** This crossed over with AwesomeDearBoy and HamAndCheese in the case of ''Film/HighlanderIITheQuickening''.
180-->'''Michael Ironside:''' "Yeah, listen, I hated that script. We all did. Me, [[Creator/SeanConnery Sean [Connery]]], [[Creator/ChristopherLambert Chris [Lambert]]]... we all were in it for the money on this one. I mean, it (the script) read as if it had been written by a thirteen-year-old boy. But I'd never played a barbarian swordsman before, and this was my first big evil mastermind type. I figured if I was going to do this stupid movie, I might as well have fun and go as far over the top as I possibly could. All that eye-rolling and foaming at the mouth was me deciding that if I was going to be in a piece of shit like that movie, I was going to be the most memorable fucking thing in it. And I think I succeeded."
181* Creator/FamkeJanssen appeared in ''Film/HanselAndGretelWitchHunters'' because she wanted to pay off her mortgage.
182* Creator/JamesEarlJones has always been very upfront about doing anything that comes with a salary attached. Lampshaded by his [[https://youtu.be/nxuhOS3UduY&feature=player_detailpage#t=83 appearance]] in ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'': "To be completely honest, I didn't know Charlie Harper. But any man who, with his dying breath, would set aside $25,000 and a first-class air ticket so I could deliver his eulogy is aces in my book!"
183* Creator/RaulJulia taking the role of M. Bison in the ''Film/StreetFighter'' movie was motivated by knowledge of his imminent death from stomach cancer, and a wish to [[SoMyKidsCanWatch leave his children well off]] -- in fact, he let his sons choose which film he'd perform in, and they chose ''Film/StreetFighter'' because they were fans of the game. His role as Gomez Addams in ''Film/TheAddamsFamily'', on the other hand, seems to have been a case of AwesomeDearBoy, as he described it as one of his favourite roles: his original inspiration for becoming an actor had been watching the films of Creator/ErrolFlynn and he was very enthusiastic about getting to swordfight in a film.
184** Similarly, he was in the cheesy ''Film/OverdrawnAtTheMemoryBank'' entirely due to his support of public television. He was also the only bright spot in the entire movie, and when ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' riffed on it shortly after his death, they went out of their way to point out that they respected Julia and were mocking the movie itself, not his performance.
185* Creator/BenKingsley has been in many poorly-received films, such as ''Film/{{Thunderbirds}}'', ''Film/TheLoveGuru'', ''Film/ASoundOfThunder'', and ''Film/{{Species}}''. His excuse? His children have gotten used to eating. And sometimes actors are susceptible to the RuleOfCool: Kingsley says he took ''Film/BloodRayne'' because he had never had the chance to play a vampire.
186* Creator/KlausKinski says it himself in one documentary. ''"Every time when I was out of money, I would just make any movie, I really didn't care. And suddenly the newspaper write I am the best murderer, the best this one, the best that one. And it isn't even too megalomanic to say 'Sure, you idiots. I can do all that. Without even trying.'"'' Kinski was offered the supporting role of evil Nazi torturer Toht in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', but turned it down in favor of a lead role in the killer snake film ''Film/Venom1981'', as the salary was higher. Kinski also turned down a role in a Federico Fellini (!) movie because the cash was too low, by sending him a telegram saying "[[PrecisionFStrike Go fuck yourself]]."
187* Creator/YaphetKotto admitted this is the reason why he reprised his ''Film/{{Alien}}'' role of Parker in ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation''. He agreed to be in ''Truck Turner'' because he was going through a divorce at the time.
188* Creator/JohnLarroquette in Music/FiftyCent's ''Gun'' as the rich gun runner Sam, not to mention his appearance in ''Film/SouthlandTales'' as Vaughn Smallhouse.
189* While starring in ''Series/{{House}}'', Creator/HughLaurie openly spoke about not wanting to be locked into a long-term contract and disliking being away from his family for months at a time. Creator/{{Fox}} kept upping his salary until he was the most highly paid dramatic TV actor in the world.
190* Creator/ClorisLeachman admitted in a now-lost interview she only did [[Film/TheOogielovesInTheBigBalloonAdventure kids movies]] and [[WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant voice]]-[[Anime/{{Ponyo}} acting]] [[WesternAnimation/TheCroods stints]] for the money.
191* Creator/DenisLeary on the ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' series: "I've been around long enough to think ahead, so I'm like, 'Ah, f***, the guy dies.' As an actor, I'm like, 'Well, I get to do a big juicy death scene, but I could be out on the sequels which is where the real money is." He also has mentioned that he also does these movies [[SoMyKidsCanWatch for his nieces and nephews]].
192* Creator/ChristopherLee made a career out of doing any role at a reasonable price without excessive prima-donnaism. In other words, if you could fork up the cash, you'd get a classy talent who'd play any role (if you need any more proof, please watch ''Film/TheCastleOfFuManchu''). Any role, that is, except {{Dracula}}. He never did that again (although in his later years, his age made him increasingly uncomfortable with flying, so his roles were limited to the UK, such as when the team on ''Film/TheHobbit'' accommodated him when he reprised his role as Saruman). He also voiced his displeasure with some of his choices; while filming ''Film/Gremlins2TheNewBatch'', he apologized to director Creator/JoeDante for appearing in the sequel to his film ''Film/TheHowling''.
193* Creator/StewartLee's sudden appearance on a lot of [[GameShow Quiz Shows]] in 2006 (including an appearance on ''Series/EightOutOfTenCats'' which he later described as "the worst moment of his career") was just to pay off his wedding. Other than that Lee tends to focus on low key events with only slim profit margins.
194* Creator/EugeneLevy is not as top-tiered an actor as many of those on this list... still, you'd think a man with two Emmys and a Grammy could do better than ''New York Minute'', ''Film/CheaperByTheDozen2'', ''Bringing Down the House'', ''The Man'', and the endless appearances in Straight-To-DVD ''Film/AmericanPie'' sequels. Several of Levy's ''Series/{{SCTV}}'' co-stars could qualify in this regard, particularly Martin Short.
195* Creator/RayLiotta has said that the only reason he voiced Tommy Vercetti in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'' was because of the money. In an Creator/{{MTV}} interview, he admitted that he's never even seen or played the game. In another interview he was asked if could do the role again, knowing it was a going to be hit. What would he have done differently? His reply was "Ask for more money".
196* While Creator/PeterLorre's career probably never reached its full potential to begin with (due to typecasting, studio practices, and a distinctive appearance), it definitely reached a low point after the failure of his only directorial effort ''Der Verlorene'' in the early 1950s. After that, he took whatever roles he could get because he desperately needed the money after losing most of his early earnings through bad investments and a corrupt accountant, and he had to provide for himself, his family, and cover the costs of various attempts to cure his morphine addiction. Lorre warned friends to never leave money management up to somebody else and often said that he would have retired from acting if he hadn't needed the money so badly.
197* Creator/DolphLundgren only did ''[[VideoGame/DungeonSiege In the Name of the King: Two Worlds]]'' as he needed the money to pay his lawyers during his divorce.
198* British fashion model and swimwear designer [[https://www.instagram.com/sarahlysander/?hl=en Sarah Lysander]] takes as many modelling shoots as she can get from her agents IMG Models. However, it was mainly to fund her swimwear venture [[http://www.lysanderswim.com Lysander Swim]]. This is fairly important to her.
199* Danielle [=MacDonald=], Australian actress, has taken on a lot of roles since starting out in 2011 for the money; as such, the roles weren't series or movies that were total turkeys, with MiniSeries forming a lot of her non-movie roles, but they were ones that got good IMDB ratings. It is widely believed her role in Patti Cake$ where she played the titular character Patti was for the money, but she has never clarified this.
200* Creator/MichaelMadsen [[http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/interviews/1020-michael-madsen said]] he's only been in six good movies -- ''Film/KillBill'', ''Film/{{Species}}'', ''Film/FreeWilly'', ''Film/ThelmaAndLouise'', ''Film/ReservoirDogs'' and ''Film/DonnieBrasco''. He explains due to both "I'm just hard to please" and "I've made some crap but you've got to pay the bills".
201* Creator/PatrickMagee was a highly regarded stage actor, particularly for Creator/HaroldPinter and Creator/SamuelBeckett's works. His film career mostly consisted of B-list horror movies. Magee stated that he made those often-poorly-received movies to pay the bills to finance his stage career.
202* John Mahoney has said this of his role on ''Series/{{Frasier}}''. The money from that show meant that he could afford to appear in, and sometimes finance, the artistic plays that were his true passion.
203* Creator/JohnMalkovich lost most of his life savings to Bernie Madoff's fraudulent Ponzi scheme in 2010. He said that since then, he not only appeared in many more movies than he would have otherwise, but by necessity became much less selective about the quality of the movies that he'd act in.
204* Creator/DeanMartin didn't really want to do his eponymous variety show but, at the same time, didn't want to say "No" outright. He asked for an exorbitant salary and that he not be required to rehearse or shoot retakes among other demands. When NBC agreed to every single one, he felt that he was honor-bound to go through with the show.
205* Creator/SteveMartin has admitted that he only does films like ''Film/CheaperByTheDozen2003'' and ''Film/ThePinkPanther2006'' so he can finance his writing and art collection, and it's more fun to keep starring in comedies than to try breaking out as a dramatic actor.
206* Practically any film that the Creator/MarxBrothers accepted to make together after ''Film/ADayAtTheRaces1937'' was made to raise money to cover for Chico Marx's recurring debts and expenses. This is especially true of their final film, ''Love Happy'', which was not originally planned to include Groucho and Chico.
207* Creator/RikMayall was cast as Peeves in ''Film/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'' but all his scenes were [[DeletedRole cut from the movie]]. Mayall later mentioned in an interview that he didn't care about being cut as he got paid in advance.
208* When Hattie [=McDaniel=], who won an Academy Award for playing a house slave in ''Film/GoneWithTheWind'', was asked why she kept taking roles that cast her as [[{{Mammy}} a stereotypical black servant]] in films and radio shows, she responded, "Why should I complain about making $700[[note]]$12,000 by today's standards[[/note]] a week playing a maid? If I didn't, I'd be making $7 a week ''being'' one."
209* Creator/IanMcKellen, early in the 2000s, was a relatively respectable version of this: huge blockbusters, but well-reviewed ones, such as the ''[[Film/XMenFilmSeries X-Men]]'' and ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' movies. He seemed to quite enjoy his higher profile and remarked on how funny it was he and his cohorts from his stage days were known for these sorts of roles. Of course, he's also done things like ''Film/TheDaVinciCode'' in between things like appearing with Creator/PatrickStewart in ''Theatre/WaitingForGodot'' on stage.
210* When he was first offered the role of John Steed on ''Series/TheAvengers1960s'', Creator/PatrickMacnee turned it down to pursue a career as a television producer. The producers kept coming back to him, so to deter them, he asked for (at the time) an exorbitant amount of money, more than an actor had ever been paid for British TV up to that time. To his great surprise, the producers accepted his asking price, and the rest is history.
211* Creator/RayMilland had an illustrious film career when he was younger, winning a Best Actor award for ''Film/TheLostWeekend'' in 1945 and appearing in a clutch of other classics like ''Film/{{The Uninvited|1944}}'' and ''Film/DialMForMurder''. But as he got old he started to pop up in lots and lots of B-grade sci-fi and horror like, well, ''Film/{{Frogs}}''. When asked why, he answered, "For the money, old boy!"
212* Creator/HelenMirren was once asked why she appeared in ''Film/TeachingMrsTingle''. The answer? "Because they gave me a [[PrecisionFStrike shitload]] of money to do it."
213* According to Creator/JulianneMoore, the only reason why she agreed to do ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'' -- she thought the script was juvenile and has had a long-term mutual hatred for her co-star Creator/JeffGoldblum, apparently -- was because she needed to pay off a divorce settlement and her paycheck came at just the right time.
214* Creator/RogerMoore did ''Film/BoatTrip'' for the money and for a free vacation.
215* Creator/EddieMurphy agreed to appear as a "Strategic Guest Star" in ''Best Defense''. When he hosted ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' soon after, he referred to it as "[[OldShame the worst film in the history of everything]]" and justified his role by saying "If you were paid to do ''Best Defense'' as much as they paid me to do ''Best Defense'', you'd do ''Best Defense'' too!". (Though there was also some AwesomeDearBoy involved -- he wanted to work with Creator/DudleyMoore.[[note]]The film was shot as a solo Moore vehicle but retooled to include Murphy in scenes that were set two years later but relied on the events in Moore's plot thread. Originally the characters met in an epilogue that was shot but cut from the finished film.[[/note]]) In one interview, he admitted that ''Film/TheAdventuresOfPlutoNash'' wasn't very good, but went on to say that it was hard to really regret it when "your pocket goes out to here" while holding his palm several inches away from his pocket. Let's not forget that an interviewer asked Murphy whether he'd have preferred to have the UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for ''{{Theatre/Dreamgirls}}'' or his paycheck from ''Film/{{Norbit}}''. He replied that while an Oscar statuette would look nice in his living room, it wouldn't pay the bills.
216* Money was one of Creator/BillMurray's reasons for taking on the role of ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} in the ''Garfield'' movies. (The other two being the challenge of voice-over work and a script he thought was being written by Creator/JoelCoen of "Creator/TheCoenBrothers"... [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Cohen_(writer) Whoops.]])
217** An in-universe example in "Film/ZombielandDoubletap" with him doing the third Garfield film because "Drugs cost money.".
218* Creator/MikeMyers backed out of a film based upon Dieter, the ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' character, and was sued by Universal Pictures for $3.8 million. His decision to back out of the $20 million contract was an inversion of this trope; he was unhappy with the script (despite having written it himself) and didn't feel the film would be of a standard acceptable for moviegoers -- as a compromise for the studio, he accepted to do ''Film/TheCatInTheHat''. If only he'd had similar scruples when he got the idea for ''Film/TheLoveGuru''...
219[[/folder]]
220
221[[folder:Individuals -- Actors (N-Z)]]
222%%
223%% ACTORS: List Film and TV Actors under "Individuals - Actors",
224%% unless you're talking about a project that involved multiple individuals.
225%% If it's an entry about an actor taking a particular role, or an actor's tendency over several roles,
226%% put it under "Individuals - Actors".
227%%
228* Alan Napier described this as his reason for playing Alfred in ''Series/Batman1966''. He had no interest in the series until his agent mentioned a salary of over $100,000. Though Napier expressed pride and fondness for the role later on.
229* Creator/LiamNeeson appeared in ''Film/{{Taken}}'' because he thought it would be a quick paycheck for a DTV movie no one would see[[note]]he also wanted to keep busy after his wife's death[[/note]]. When the film became a surprise hit, he upped his salary demands for the sequels. He was paid $15 million for ''Film/Taken2'', and [[http://www.mtv.com/news/1709538/liam-neeson-taken-3/ $20 million for]] ''Film/Taken3''.
230* This appears to be why Creator/LeslieNielsen starred in a lot of critically-panned films later in his life.
231* Creator/JackNicholson's $60 million deal for the 1989 ''Film/{{Batman|1989}}'' movie included a $6 million base salary, top billing, and both a percentage of the gross and merchandising. It remains the single-largest film salary record. Around the time the Creator/JoelSchumacher movies were hitting theatres and there were projects for a follow-up if ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' didn't bomb with critics and audiences, Nicholson said he would consider reprising the role of ComicBook/TheJoker for $150 million. Which makes sense. After seeing Schumacher's Batman movies, wouldn't ''you'' ask an exorbitant wage to shame yourself on his next movie? Apparently, when Danny [=DeVito=] was in negotiations to appear as the Penguin in ''Film/BatmanReturns'', he called Nicholson to ask his advice on the character and the contract. Jack's response? "Try to get my deal". Then again Jack Nicholson did go on record for saying he enjoyed playing the Joker and was a big supporter of then-rookie director Creator/TimBurton during filming. So while the money got him to do it, he didn't hate or feel indifferent toward role like most others on the list. He reportedly liked the role so much that he had wanted to reprise the part in the ill-fated ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' live-action movie that WB had considered making. He was also upset when Creator/HeathLedger took over the part in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''.
232* While making ''The St. Valentine's Day Massacre'', Creator/RogerCorman offered Jack Nicholson a secondary but significant role. Looking at the shooting schedule, however, Jack noticed a small bit part -- two scenes and one line of dialog -- which due to a GoodBadBug in the Screen Actors Guild regulations would get him paid for five weeks of work. He took the small role and the big paycheck instead.
233* Creator/NickNolte has said that he sold his soul by agreeing to make ''Film/ILoveTrouble'' strictly for the money and that it's his worst film, which explains how his attitude on set was so bad that his costar, Creator/JuliaRoberts, still says he's the worst actor she's ever worked with.
234* Comedian Jim Norton pretty much says he only does movies for the money.
235* Creator/DanOHerlihy in ''Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch''. Even though the movie was panned by critics and audiences alike, O'Herlihy somewhat averted the "just for the money" part by saying that he had more fun playing the villain in ''Halloween III'' than he had in any of his more serious, critically-acclaimed film or stage roles.
236* Creator/GaryOldman is known for driving a particularly hard bargain. He won't even ''read'' most scripts without a hefty offer on the table, and he's known for having almost bowed out of the ''Film/HarryPotter'' franchise over salary disputes. Sadly, the makers of ''WesternAnimation/QuestForCamelot'', and ''Film/LostInSpace'' must have been aware of this bargain prior to hiring him. He also decided against credit when he wasn't allowed top billing alongside Creator/AnthonyHopkins in ''Film/{{Hannibal}}''. Further, if you are not a union production, ''no'' amount of money will get you his services, as Creator/GeorgeLucas found out when he offered Oldman the role of [[TheDragon General Grevious]] in ''Franchise/StarWars Episode III: Film/RevengeOfTheSith''.[[note]]Lucas left the Director's Guild in the '80s after the Guild tried to force him to have credits at the beginning of ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', and so many in Hollywood who are pro-SAG and DGA consider it the equivalent of being a scab worker.[[/note]]
237** Oldman reportedly only took the role of Music/SidVicious in Alex Cox's ''Film/SidAndNancy'' because it would pay well, having no particular fondness for the material or for punk music. That's not to say he didn't give it his all -- he lost frightening amounts of weight to match Vicious' heroin-addict figure and reportedly stayed in character some nights after shooting while going clubbing with the cinematographer. That, and he gave the best and most faithful performance of anyone in the film.
238** His participation in the ''Harry Potter'' movies and Creator/ChristopherNolan's ''Dark Knight'' trilogy was driven by the fact that he'd receive sizeable salaries for supporting roles that required only a few weeks' work. The projects had come along after he'd gone through a nasty divorce and was granted sole custody of his young children and he needed work that would support his family while not keeping away from home for too long[[note]]he'd kept turning down work that would have required signifciant time away from his kids and ended up not working for over a year because of it[[/note]].
239* The TropeNamer is Creator/LaurenceOlivier, who was determined to leave a comfortable inheritance to his family and was more than willing to take unusual roles if they paid well, especially in his later career. The three most striking examples are his portrayals of Zeus in ''Film/{{Clash of the Titans|1981}}'', UsefulNotes/DouglasMacArthur in the Unification Church-funded flop ''Film/{{Inchon}}'', for which it is said Olivier insisted on his salary being paid weekly in a BriefcaseFullOfMoney delivered by helicopter, and the 1980 remake of ''Film/TheJazzSinger'' where he starred opposite Music/NeilDiamond. Olivier's posthumous performance in ''Film/SkyCaptainAndTheWorldOfTomorrow'' may be the logical extension of this trope.
240* Creator/TimothyOlyphant signed on for ''Film/LiveFreeOrDieHard'' and ''Film/{{Hitman}}'' because his TV show ''Series/{{Deadwood}}'' had just gotten cancelled after he had bought a house. The film's follow-up ''Film/HitmanAgent47'' is a ContinuityReboot partly because Olyphant didn't want to reprise his role.
241* Shaquille O'Neal in ''Film/{{Kazaam}}''. As the man himself put it:
242-->'''Shaq''': I was a medium-level juvenile delinquent from Newark who always dreamed about doing a movie. Someone said, "Hey, here's $7 million, come in and do this genie movie." What am I going to say, [[ViolationOfCommonSense no]]? [[note]]This was in 1995; $7 million then would be roughly equal to $11.5 million today. [[/note]] So I did it.
243* Creator/PattonOswalt pretty much only acts for the money or the anecdotes, his stand-up work being his [[DoingItForTheArt real passion.]]
244** He discussed this trope in his special ''Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time'', talking about how he once performed at a casino for a "sacrilegious" amount of money, and the audience was so drunk that all he did was listen while they shouted his past roles at him for 30 minutes[[note]]and earned enough to pay for a full year's tuition at an American university in the process[[/note]]. The casino was so pleased with the reception that they said they would pay him to come back any time he wanted.
245* Betsy Palmer appeared in ''Film/FridayThe13th1980'' because she was in desperate need of a new car. After she read the script she called the film "a piece of shit". Like Palmer above, she eventually expressed pride and fondness for the role later on, going as far as to appear in horror conventions several years before her passing.
246* Creator/RonPerlman also falls into this category. After a fallow period where he didn't work for several years, he'll now take almost any role offered to him, no matter how bad the project. Then, he turns around and makes movies with Creator/GuillermoDelToro. Film truly is a diverse medium. He has also hinted that a big factor in his taking the role of Hellboy was that, as an actor in his fifties, he had never gotten the girl at the end of the movie... until that one.
247-->'''Perlman:''' I'm doing weapons training for this piece of shit, then I go to Romania to shoot another piece of shit, then come back to shoot my part in this piece of shit...[sighs]...What can I say? [[AllWomenLoveShoes My wife loves shoes]].
248* Creator/BradPitt was very vocal about how much he hated ''Film/TheDevilsOwn''. According to him, it was "the most irresponsible bit of filmmaking -- if you can even call it that -- that I've ever seen" and he also called the film a "disaster".
249* Creator/DonaldPleasence says it all:
250-->There was a sort of horror picture that I did called ''The Mutations''. I think I did that solely for the money. I have six daughters, and they can be quite expensive, so one has to keep working and be able to pay the bills.
251* Creator/ChristopherPlummer in the Italian B-movie ''Franchise/StarWars'' knock-off ''Film/{{Starcrash}}''. Well, the money [[VacationDearBoy plus an opportunity to visit Rome]].
252* Creator/RichardPryor said yes to ''Film/TheToy'' and ''Film/SupermanIII'' for this reason.
253* Creator/OliverReed ended up doing a lot of B movies towards the end of his life, including a poorly-received adaptation of ''The Fall of the House of Usher'', as his drinking habits and wild lifestyle meant many mainstream directors would not give him a role.
254* Creator/AutumnReeser has stated that she essentially became the "Queen of Hallmark Channel Originals" because the movies are an easy steady gig with positive messages, and she's a single mom with two kids to put through school.
255* Creator/JeremyRenner stated that a major reason why he chose to play ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}} in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' is because superhero films are quite popular nowadays, so at least it would pay the bills. That and he's a fan of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse and [[AwesomeDearBoy he really wanted to play a superhero after seeing]] ''Film/IronMan1''.
256* Creator/BurtReynolds was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1996 after being $10 million in debt, so Reynolds vowed to cut back on expenses and to pay back every single dime, and he appeared in over 40 films over the next two decades. It's clear that he starred in most of them (''Film/InTheNameOfTheKing'', ''Film/WithoutAPaddle'', ''Film/TheLongestYard'' remake, ''Film/TheDukesOfHazzard'' film adaptation) for the money.
257** Of course, this leads to some bizarre logic on Reynolds' part. He took on one role just for the money and was so ashamed of the result that he fired his agent. That film was the career resurrecting ''Film/BoogieNights''.
258** He once admitted that he did ''Film/TheCannonballRun'' for the money and as a favor to his friend Hal Needham.
259* Creator/JohnRhysDavies lives and breathes this trope. He's a fantastic actor who often winds up in DirectToVideo B-movies and was one of the more prominent actors to appear in FMV games in the 1990s. Basically, if you have a paycheck, no matter how small, he'll show up in it. Fortunately, he's also been in some great A-class titles too.
260* Part of Creator/ArnoldRidley's motivation for taking the role of Godfrey in ''Series/DadsArmy'' was because a series regular role would give him and his wife financial security after he lost his fortune financing a series of unsuccessful productions.
261* Creator/MollyRingwald may be the undisputed queen of this trope. Since her fall from stardom in the early nineties, her filmography has consisted of countless television movies, guest spots, direct-to-video releases, cameos, indie features, and ''Film/JemAndTheHolograms2015''. And she's [[Series/{{Riverdale}} Archie Andrews' mother]].
262* Creator/JasonRobards straight up admitted to doing ''Film/RaiseTheTitanic'' because "money, m'dear, money... We're all incidental to the hardware and the special effects on this one."
263* Creator/EricRoberts has [[http://www.theshiznit.co.uk/feature/forthcoming-highlights-from-eric-roberts-busy-year-ahead.php worked a lot]] since his 1995 arrest ("[[http://www.theshiznit.co.uk/feature/101-reasons-2016-wasnt-quite-as-shit-as-we-all-thought-it-was.php 44 movies on the slate for 2016.]] [[http://www.theshiznit.co.uk/media/2016/December/eric.jpg FORTY-FOUR]]. (...) That is more movies than Creator/MarlonBrando made in his lifetime.") And movies like ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', ''Film/TheExpendables'' and ''Film/InherentVice'' are the exception, as Creator/NathanRabin [[http://www.avclub.com/article/ia-talking-cat-iis-ithe-roomi-of-anthropomorphic-a-93563 sums up]]:
264-->According to [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000616/reference his IMDB page]], Roberts is scheduled to appear in no less than 41 films this year [2013]. Seriously. Obviously, some of those films will not be released this year, or ever, but that’s still a staggering volume of work for an actor outside the world of pornography.
265* Julia "Jules" Robinson, from ''Series/MarriedAtFirstSight'' (the Australian version) admitted she only went on the show for the money, and stated:
266--> '''Jules Robinson''' "I needed the money at the time, really, the pay seemed good from what I was told."
267** She's also admitted some of her public appearances post-series were simply done for the paycheck and with BrutalHonesty, said it was simply as much a job as being in the limelight.
268* Joe Rogan once referred to ''Series/FearFactor'', which he hosted, as "Joe Gets Paid".
269--> ''"This is me, every day at work: '...REALLY. And they're going to do this on camera? What the fuck is wrong with these people? ...No, dude, I got a mortgage; mic me up."''
270* Creator/TimRoth has admitted to taking roles in poorly-received productions such as ''Virgin Territory'' and ''Film/UnitedPassions'' for the money, saying he appeared in the latter to get out of a "financial hole".
271* Creator/RichardRoundtree appeared in ''Film/{{Steel}}'' for the money. And the [[RecycledTheSeries eventual TV series]]. She got paid more for ''the series''!
272* Creator/PaulRudd is very frank about how he's had to appear in poorly-received films like ''Over Her Dead Body'' and ''Overnight Delivery'' because he needed the money. He also once flew to Hong Kong on short notice, bleached his hair, and hammed it up in ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gen-Y_Cops Gen-Y Cops]]'' after he and his wife realized that they didn't have enough money to cover their rent.
273* Creator/BobSaget, known for being a particularly filthy stand-up comic, agreed to star on ''Series/FullHouse'' because he needed the money to support his family.
274* For years, Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger refused to do a third ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' movie if Creator/JamesCameron wasn't directing. Figuring that the character was as much Arnold's as it was his, James just told him to go for it and ask for a lot of money. The $30 million for ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' he received are still an upfront record for a single movie (though Creator/TomHanks is rumored to have received along the lines of $29-59 million for ''Film/AngelsAndDemons''). Arnold has admitted he loves to spend Hollywood's money. Almost all of his salaries since the first Terminator movie rose from $11 million to $25 million.
275* Creator/GeorgeCScott stated that that was why he signed on to the FOX sitcom ''Mr. President'' (his first TV series since ''East Side, West Side'').
276* Creator/PeterSellers did several ill-fated films and TWA ads in the early 1970s largely because he was nearly broke after a string of late '60s flops and unwise money management. It was also a big reason he agreed to revive ''Franchise/ThePinkPanther'' films with ''Film/TheReturnOfThePinkPanther'' in 1975, which turned things around. He did two additional sequels after that to rebuild his fortunes -- but also to achieve the needed clout to get ''Film/BeingThere'' made.
277* Creator/ChloeSevigny explains her motivation for playing a ButchLesbian in the TVMovie ''If These Walls Could Talk 2'': "... yeah, I did that job. For money. I was paying my mom's mortgage. I've still never seen that movie. People say it's really good. We all gotta make a living."
278* Slight variation: Creator/MichaelShanks claimed at a fan convention that he agreed to star in the Sci-Fi Original Movie ''Mega Snake'', without even reading the script, solely so he could get his US work visa renewed.
279* Creator/WilliamShatner earned some money off of the Priceline adverts by being paid in stock when Priceline was still young (though not the hundreds of millions sometimes reported). Also notoriously true during those long, lean years in TheSeventies after he had been [[IAmNotSpock profoundly typecast]] by ''Franchise/StarTrek'' but before his career resuscitation in TheEighties. Obviously, this affected all of his castmates as well. Only Creator/LeonardNimoy seemed to land on his feet, first getting a job across the Paramount lot at ''Series/MissionImpossible'' and then starring in well-attended stage productions of ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof'' and, later, ''Theatre/{{Equus}}'', ''[[http://www.beyondspock.de/stage/vincent.php Vincent]]'' and a camped-up [[http://www.beyondspock.de/stage/sherlock_holmes.php Sherlock Holmes play]], meanwhile narrating the ''In Search Of...'' series. Even ''Franchise/StarTrek'' itself was an example of this for Shatner. Known at the time for his guest appearances in various other shows (most famously ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959''), he ''turned down'' the role of Dr. Kildare, only to regret it a couple of years down the line when offers started drying up. Needing the financial stability of a regular job, he took the role of Captain James T. Kirk.
280** He also agreed to guest host an episode of ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' (a British satirical news quiz which, by his own admission, he had never heard of before) because he and his wife were in Europe buying horses and he appreciated being offered a quick paying gig in the middle of such an expensive trip.
281* Creator/MichaelSheen has made a serviceable career of juicy dramatic roles, including playing Tony Blair several times on the small screen and the big screen, plus solid hits like ''The Damned United'', ''Film/FrostNixon'' and ''Film/MidnightInParis''. On the other hand, he's ChewingTheScenery in glorified bit parts from films such as ''Film/AliceInWonderland2010'', ''Film/TronLegacy'' and ''Film/Underworld2003''. There's no reason why he would be doing this unless he wanted a paycheck so that the filmmakers could capitalize on his star power. In the case of ''Tron'', he said he chose the role because [[AwesomeDearBoy he loves science fiction and enjoyed making it]], and in the case of the ''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Twilight]]'' movies, [[SoMyKidsCanWatch he did it for his daughter]].
282* Danny Slavin from ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'' stated that the only reason he agreed to play Leo was so he could make money to go to law school. He only returned for the ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' episode "[[Recap/PowerRangersWildForceForeverRed Forever Red]]" as a favor to the show's producer.
283* After years of irresponsible spending and a heavy fine due to underpaying his taxes, Creator/WillSmith was nearly bankrupt when he was approached by NBC to create ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir''. He accepted and it became [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools the start of an extremely successful acting career]].
284* Creator/JamesSpader claims that this is the reason why he did his gig on ''Series/{{The Office|US}}''. He's also open about having a low opinion of the script for ''Film/{{Stargate}}'', in which he played Daniel Jackson. He has famously said that acting is about being paid for his hobby:
285--> '''James Spader''': You’re getting paid for your hobby. I just became an actor.
286** And also:
287--> '''James Spader''': I have a history and I’m not very responsible economically. I have a history working on films for years and years, and by the time I was starting the next film, I was starting from zero again. Television is the best earner. So the idea of knowing that the bills are going to be paid.
288** And finally:
289--> '''James Spader''': Acting, for me, is a passion, but it's also a job, and I've always approached it as such. I have a certain manual-labourist view of acting. There's no shame in taking a film because you need some [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] money.
290* Creator/BrentSpiner signed up to play Data in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' figuring that remaking such a famous show was doomed to fail, so he'd be able to get money from doing the season and move onto something else.
291* Creator/SylvesterStallone starred in ''Film/OverTheTop'' purely to fulfil his contract with Cannon Films. He explained:
292-->'''Sylvester Stallone:''' (Producer) Menahem Golan kept offering me more and more money, until I finally thought, "What the hell -- no one will see it!"
293** Stallone also said that ''Film/RockyV'', which he admits that [[CreatorBacklash wasn't very good]], was done because: [[http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/film/3045458/Sylvester-Stallone-gives-his-most-candid-interview-ever.html#ixzz26JqsJSmg "I'm greedy — what can I tell you."]]
294* Comedian Doug Stanhope proudly says he hosted the final season of ''Series/TheManShow'' strictly for the money, sahibg in his stand-up act: "If you were offered $100,000 to kill a dying show, you're a fucking idiot if you turn it down!" and comparing it being on the last helicopters when Americans were fleeing Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War.
295* By her own admission, this[[note]]Along with getting to play a FakeAmerican[[/note]] is why Creator/ImeldaStaunton turns up in 2006 Creator/StevenSeagal straight-to-DVD movie ''Shadow Man''.
296* While most of the films Creator/PatrickStewart does is because [[DoingItForTheArt he just loves acting in general]] and has as much fun doing a goofy popcorn film as a serious drama, even he had a time in his career where he's admitted to taking roles just to pay the bills. Before ''Franchise/StarTrek'', Stewart took a role in ''Film/Lifeforce1985'' to pay for the replacement of a broken bay window at his house. He also took on a role in ''Film/WildGeeseII'' because he just had an expensive maintenance job done in his kitchen. Even his role in ''Star Trek'' was originally a case of this: early in his career, he disdained TV acting and sci-fi (his role on ''Star Trek'' changed that), and only took the role of Picard because he thought it would be cancelled after one season and "I'd make some money, get a tan, and go home". When Stewart once recollected about accepting an award in Britain, he stated that, while with other British stage actors, he was asked the same thing repeatedly about his Hollywood experiences -- "How much do you get paid?"
297* Ryan Stiles admitted in an interview that, despite having a fear of flying, he was willing to fly to the UK to do ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' because at the time he desperately needed the money.
298* Creator/DonaldSutherland appeared in ''Film/AnimalHouse'' for this reason. He was so sure the film would flop that he took a straightforward salary over a percentage of the profits. This turned out to be a very poor decision.
299** He also admitted in an interview in the '80s that he took a role in the 1981 Canadian comedy ''Gas'' because he was broke and needed the money.
300* The Japanese actor Tetsuro Tamba was legendary for never turning down a paying role, no matter what it was in (he also never read the entire script for a movie, or memorized a script). He also founded a religion.
301* Creator/CharlizeTheron admitted in an interview that she starred in ''Film/{{Hancock}}'' for the money.
302* English actress Lottie Tolhurst zig-zags this trope. She has admitted to taking on roles because of AwesomeDearBoy, but admits that roles such as her appearance in ''Series/{{Harlots}}'' as Kitty Carter and ''Series/MrSelfridge'' were mainly for the paycheck, although both series were acclaimed, in an unusual example of this trope.
303* Creator/AlexTrebek signed onto host the short-lived 1981 game show ''Series/{{Pitfall}}'' after going through a bitter divorce coupled with the passing of his father. Despite leaping over several legal hurdles in his native Canada to get the job, the second of his two paychecks bounced due to parent company Catalena Productions [[TroubledProduction going bankrupt mid-production]]. All was not lost as he went onto host ''Series/{{Battlestars}}'' for NBC later that same year.
304* Creator/MarisaTomei has pretty much admitted herself that she enjoys money:
305-->I don't prefer much of film over stage... The only thing I prefer is the paycheck.
306* When Creator/GerryAnderson asked Creator/RobertVaughn's business partner Sherwood Price why Vaughn had signed on to do ''The Protectors'' if the writing was so bad, Price replied "Baby, the money's good."
307* Creator/LotteVerbeek, a Dutch actress, has taken on a fair amount of roles specifically for the paycheck, notably Geillis Duncan in ''Series/{{Outlander}}'', and also Giulia Farnese in ''Series/TheBorgias'', but 2020 movie ''The Book of Vision'' where she plays protagonist Eva was done for the money, according to WordOfSaintPaul.
308* Creator/JonVoight played Principal Dimly in the ''Film/{{Bratz}}'' movie and the BigBad Bill Biscane in ''Film/BabyGeniuses 2'' for the money, and because he ''produced'' those movies as well.
309* Creator/ChristopherWalken is honest about the fact that he never turns down a well-paying gig. This has led to his appearances in poorly-received films such as ''Film/JoeDirt'', ''Film/TheCountryBears'', ''Film/KangarooJack'', ''Film/{{Gigli}}'', ''Film/{{Envy}}'', ''Film/{{Click}}'' and the 2004 remake of ''Film/TheStepfordWives'', just to name a few. However, he's also said repeatedly in interviews that he takes any role offered to him as long as he has the time because he regards every film he works on as a learning experience.
310* Creator/DavidWarner has been known to take roles for the money, for example projects like ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIITheSecretOfTheOoze'', ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'', ''VideoGame/Privateer2TheDarkening'' and ''Film/QuestOfTheDeltaKnights''.
311* Creator/SigourneyWeaver's involvement in ''Film/{{Alien 3}}'' and ''Film/AlienResurrection'' was motivated largely by this. After ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', Weaver had intended it to be the last role she would play as the character...until 20th Century Fox lured her back to the third film (after rejecting several scripts by other writers that didn't include her) with a much bigger payday and a producer's credit. Years later, during an interview, she responded to the question, "Why did you agree to do ''Film/AlienResurrection''?" by saying, "Because they drove a dump truck full of money to my house."
312* Creator/OrsonWelles willingly accepted an endless chain of well-paying bit parts in many films. Interestingly enough, he combined this with DoingItForTheArt, as the money he made was used to finance his own film projects, which was the only way that he could have complete control over them.
313** He hawked [[https://youtu.be/V14PfDDwxlE frozen peas]] and [[https://youtu.be/bpj0t2ozPWY Paul Masson wine]]. His work on these commercials has been the subject of parody, most notably on ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''. That said, Welles enjoyed making most of these commercials, considering them a fun and easy way to make a buck; the "Frozen Peas" recording was an outlier prompted by an obnoxious director.
314** One of Welles' last roles was voicing ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'' villain Unicron. While both the character and the performance are unforgettable, Welles himself viewed the production with contempt and could only recall it was a movie about "toys killing each other."
315** He did the narration on the remastered version of ''Tales of Mystery and Imagination -- Edgar Allan Poe'' by Music/TheAlanParsonsProject. It was straight wage work: the whole thing was arranged through agents, Welles was sent a script, and Parsons was sent a tape.
316** He also narrated the fundamentalist Christian film ''The Late, Great Planet Earth'', with Hal Lindsey, and the sensationalistic UsefulNotes/{{Nostradamus}} documentary ''Film/TheManWhoSawTomorrow'' for similar reasons.
317* Creator/BenWhishaw's quotes about replacing Colin Firth as ''Film/{{Paddington|2014}}'' in ''The Daily Mail'' saying that he has "no relationship to Paddington whatsoever" and attended the audition "begrudgingly" probably points to this trope as a reason why he signed on. That same interview revealed Whishaw's attitude turned into a case of SoMyKidsCanWatch since he has an 18-month-old niece, and his initial apprehension was due to previous bad experiences doing voice-over work. Once he started working he quite enjoyed himself.
318* Creator/RobinWilliams said he sometimes did movies only to pay the bills, such as ''Film/OldDogs'' and ''Series/TheCrazyOnes''. With regards to [[CelebrityVoiceActor his voicing the Genie]] in the first ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' film, he agreed to be paid at SAG scale and requested that Disney not utilize his character or performance excessively in the marketing. Disney naturally ignored the second request, which led to Williams refusing to return to the role in the first direct-to-video sequel (and the subsequent series) and only reprised it for the second sequel for $1 million. (Weirdly he then reprised the Genie one more time for a bunch of interstitial segments on Creator/OneSaturdayMorning called "Great Minds Think For Themselves", as well as in ''VideoGame/DisneysMathQuestWithAladdin''; the motives for him doing so were never revealed.)
319* Van Williams, best known for starring as ''Series/TheGreenHornet'', only pursued acting gigs for money as he didn't care about the craft and detested the politics involved in film and TV production. Once he found investments and commercial ventures that were more lucrative, he left the industry entirely.
320* After Creator/BruceWillis' A-list career [[StarDerailingRole flatlined]] with ''Film/AGoodDayToDieHard'' in 2013, the majority of his output became AdvertisedExtra roles in DirectToVideo films, culminating in seven of those in 2021. While it was clear that he was being well paid to work little, many fans still wondered why Willis was taking these jobs given how they were dragging down his reputation, to the point that in 2021, the UsefulNotes/{{Golden Raspberry Award}}s created a special category just to make fun of his movies. Those questions were seemingly answered in 2022 when Willis retired from acting, with family members citing aphasia and later admitting it had progressed into full-blown dementia. With that, the consensus on Willis' late-period career suddenly turned darker and more tragic: that he took the roles knowing he had little time left, and wanting to make enough money to retire comfortably and leave something for his children while he was still able to work. This led many who previously mocked him over his career decisions to apologize, with the Razzies retracting their special category out of respect for Willis and ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' unlisting a [=YouTube=] video called "The Brucie Awards" that mocked Willis' direct-to-video film roles.
321* Veteran Hong Kong actor Creator/AnthonyWong, who currently had over 200 credits in his name and appeared in a slew of poorly-received CAT-III[[note]]The highest level of Hong Kong film rating, reserved for movies featuring excessive violence and[=/=] sexual content. In the US, such films would straddle the upper end of R through to NC-17.[[/note]] films in the '90s where he played serial killers, rapists, and murderers, publicly admitted that he only did so for the money, due to raising his sons as a single father while taking care of his elderly, geriatric mother. Most of the CAT-III films he made in the past are a bit of an OldShame for him.
322* Filipino actor Creator/VicSotto was unapologetic about ''Film/MyLittleBossings[='=]'' ChristmasRushed, MerchandiseDriven production, saying he did make his audiences happy and what mattered was it sold well. As if making money was all the Plarform/MetroManilaFilmFestival would give a damn about, much to the umbrage of filmmakers who viewed the event as having degenerated into a dumping ground of films of questionable merit for [[ViewersAreMorons masses who don't seem to care]].
323* Creator/RachelZegler followed up her critically acclaimed performance in ''Film/WestSideStory2021'' with ''Film/ShazamFuryOfTheGods.'' Asked at a red carpet what enticed her to join the DC universe, she confidently said she "needed a job." That's no joke. Despite having worked with Creator/StevenSpielberg, ''Film/WestSideStory2021'' took so long to come out that she remained an unknown and needed to keep her union benefits.
324[[/folder]]
325
326[[folder:Individuals -- Writers, Directors, Producers]]
327* This is presumably the reason why Creator/NoahBaumbach co-wrote ''WesternAnimation/Madagascar3EuropesMostWanted'', a film very, very different from his usual output: he was going through a divorce at the time, and had to pay off his lawyer's legal fees somehow.
328* Creator/JohnCarpenter:
329** His and Debra Hill's work on the script for ''Film/HalloweenII1981'' was purely mercenary, as they felt that the first film was a standalone story. It's no surprise that he's [[CreatorBacklash described it as an inferior script]], saying that the only thing that got him through writing it was [[INeedAFreakingDrink a six-pack of Budweiser]] every morning.
330** He has admitted that this is the [[http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3349134/john-carpenter-big-trouble-remake-pay/ entire reason]] why he produced [[Film/TheFog2005 the remake]] of ''Film/TheFog1980'', and why he was on set the entire time.
331** He's said similar things about a planned remake of ''Film/BigTroubleInLittleChina'', being quoted as saying, "I’m ambivalent about a remake... On the other hand, it depends on how much they pay me."
332* Creator/FrancisFordCoppola: After making an expensive flop in ''One from the Heart'', his entire career for nearly two decades was simply doing movies for the money. After getting it paid off, a decade-long break followed, and now he uses the money from his wine to [[DoingItForTheArt make the movies he wants]].
333* Creator/WesCraven had this to say about his involvement in ''Film/TheHillsHaveEyesPartII'' (The '80s one)
334--> I'm sorry about ''The Hills Have Eyes, Part II''. The reason I did that film was that I was dead broke and needed to do any film. I would have done ''Godzilla Goes to Paris.''
335* When asked in an interview what he hoped to achieve with his early movies, Creator/JohnFord simply replied "a big check." He repeatedly maintained over the years that moviemaking was just a way for him to make a living, which he stuck with because it paid well and he found it easy.
336* Brenda Hampton, creator of ''Series/TheSecretLifeOfTheAmericanTeenager'', has responded to the poor critical reception of the show by saying she'd rather have good ratings than good reviews.
337* For Creator/DavidMamet, ''Film/TheUntouchables1987'' was this. He had just won the UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize for ''Theatre/GlengarryGlenRoss'' and director Creator/BrianDePalma told him now was the time to write the adaptation of [[Series/TheUntouchables an old TV show]] "for a shitload of money." Mamet agreed.
338* Ben Ramsey, writer of the poorly-received anime adaptation ''Film/DragonballEvolution'', admitted as much and apologized to fans when reached by an interviewer. "So I’m not blaming anyone for ''Dragonball'' but myself," he said. "As a fanboy of other series, I know what it’s like to have something you love and anticipate be so disappointing."
339* Screenwriter John Rogers [[http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2008/06/in-room-432-also-shame.html had a game where]] he tried to sum up movies with one word. Regarding ''Film/Catwoman2004'', in which he's one of the credited writers, he could only come up with "mortgage" (though the title of the post also notes "[[OldShame shame]]").
340* Creator/DonSiegel once said of his work "Most of my pictures, I'm sorry to say, are about nothing. Because I'm a whore. I work for money. It's the American way."
341* Creator/JeanShepherd produced several feature films for television in the 1970s and 1980s before realizing that the proceeds from his first theatrical film, ''Film/AChristmasStory'', far exceeded anything he had ever done in television.
342* Creator/TaikaWaititi had zero interest in Thor and hated the comics, but when the opportunity came along to write and direct ''Film/ThorRagnarok'', he had just had a second kid and needed to pay the bills. The film ended up a creative and commercial success, revitalizing the franchise.
343* Creator/EdWood hated that he spent the last few years of his life directing pornography, but by that point, he'd exhausted all the funding and connections he had and needed to do ''something'' to keep his lights on. Sadly, even ''that'' wasn't enough, no thanks to his severe alcoholism; three days before he died, he and his wife were evicted from their apartment due to non-payment of rent.
344[[/folder]]
345
346[[folder:Advertising]]
347* Creator/PierreArditi, being rather left-leaning politically and against a number of practices in the banking system, was once asked why he starred in commercials... for banks, and he replied that it's his job to act and that it paid quite well.
348* Creator/MichaelIronside doesn't do a lot of commercials, but the ones he ''has'' consented to are well-loved by his fans, such as this advert for [[https://youtu.be/uW1D7_bGRTo Wisk laundry detergent]] -- done [[PrivateDetective hard-boiled gumshoe]] style, as well as this ad for [[https://youtu.be/DNTmHfCvnYc Labatt beer]] -- ''in character as General Katana from ''Film/HighlanderIITheQuickening''''.
349* After years of being typecast, Creator/AdamWest was willing to do anything for a paycheck, from being a human cannonball to making a [[https://youtu.be/AZlAOB-x_80 commercial for an internet kiosk]] which turned out to be [[http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/pantheon-holdings/miami-florida-33181/pantheon-holdings-ezlink-internet-access-terminal-rip-off-broken-promises-and-lies-holy-119674 a big scam]]. Fortunately, Adam's career got better when he started, well, AdamWesting.
350* Creator/KateMulgrew (Janeway from ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'') defended herself after doing the voiceover for a geocentrist documentary trailer by stating that [[https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10151985862292466&id=7122967465 she was simply a voice for hire]] and wouldn't even have taken the job if she'd known what the documentary in question was actually about or who was involved in making it.
351* Creator/RikMayall starred in a series of at least eight adverts for {{Creator/Nintendo}} in the UK in the early 1990s (see them [[https://youtu.be/w24KR30nEsg here]] and [[http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/08/feature_the_rik_mayall_nintendo_adverts_you_totally_forgot_about here]]). He spent his vast fee on a house in an expensive area of London, which he named Nintendo Towers.
352* Creator/CindyCrawford has defended doing commercials for money, once stating "Commercial is not a bad word to me". [[https://youtu.be/V1D8jf8oHDc She even did a spot for German railways]].
353* Creator/BobHoskins appeared in a series of adverts for BT in the 1990s for, in his own words, "500,000 reasons, all of them with the Queen's head on".
354* When Creator/{{David Mitchell|Actor}} and Creator/RobertWebb were criticized for appearing in the British versions of Apple's "Get a Mac" adverts, Webb responded by saying "When someone asks, 'Do you want to do some funny ads for not many days in the year and be paid more than you would be for an entire series of Series/PeepShow?' the answer, obviously, is, 'Yeah, that's fine'". In response to claims that they'd 'sold out', David Mitchell said that since they'd never attacked the capitalist system in any way, the only possible criticism could be their choice of product...and computers aren't notably evil.
355* Creator/PeterUstinov once joked that the only reason he did an American Express commercial was to pay his American Express bill.
356* Creator/GeorgeCarlin prefaced a poem making fun of advertising catchphrases by saying "If any of you should have some cognitive dissonance about the fact that I do commercials...and still attack advertising, well...you're just gonna have to figure that shit out on your own."
357* Creator/DaveChappelle also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e9T3DNAdaI mentions this trope]] in one of his stand-up specials:
358--> '''Chappelle:''' "I don't even know why people listen to me. I'll say anything [[NWordPrivileges nigga]], I've done commercials for Coke '''and''' Pepsi, I don't give a fuck what comes out of my mouth! I just say what it takes, whatever it takes, that's what I saying... If you want to know the truth: can't even taste the difference. Surprise! All I know is Pepsi paid me most recently, so... it tastes better. That's pretty much how the game goes."
359* The reason why UsefulNotes/MikhailGorbachev appeared in commercials for the likes of Louis Vuitton and Pizza Hut (the latter of which proved to be ''very'' infamous) was for him to fund his research foundation, not to mention that he was virtually broke at the time when he left his position as premier of the now-defunct Soviet Union.
360* UsefulNotes/AmeliaEarhart got roped into [[https://s3.agency/how-pr-propelled-amelia-earhart/ celebrity endorsements]] for things as varied as [[https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/22847847 Lucky Strike cigarettes, clothing, luggage and many others]] as well as speaking engagements as it helped fund her career as an aviatrix.
361[[/folder]]
362
363[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
364* Creator/KiaAsamiya has admitted in interviews that he doesn't really have much interest in manga at all and thinks of himself as a businessman rather than an artist.
365* Creator/OsamuTezuka was forced into this many times over his long career. Most notably, almost everything he did involving ''Manga/AstroBoy'' after the 1950s, as he lost interest in the character after a while but it was so popular he couldn't afford to abandon it completely.
366%%* Nobody can seem to agree on whether or not ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' is this for Creator/HideakiAnno, up to and including the man himself.
367* The pay-grade for dubbing anime is laughably low. In fact, actor/singer Creator/EricStuart (of ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' and ''{{Anime/Slayers}}'' fame) once stated that one commercial gig pays more than a week of dubbing an anime episode. As a result, actors who take these jobs and ''aren't'' DoingItForTheArt are doing it for this reason.
368* Creator/FourKidsEntertainment received criticism throughout its life for its [[{{Bowdlerize}} heavily-edited anime dubs]], yet compared to the other localization companies out there, it paid its actors very well. As a result, it's rare to hear any NYC-based voice actor complain about the company's existence, despite any personal feelings they might have over their editing practices. This fact was laid bare when 4Kids lost the ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeries Pokémon]]'' rights and The Pokémon Company replaced the original voice actors due to their much-higher-than-normal salaries.
369* ''Manga/DragonBall'', [[https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2016/10/15/kazuhiko-torishima-on-shaping-the-success-of-dragon-ball-and-the-origins-of-dragon-quest/#3cecaaa225e5 at the behest of Kazuhiko Torishima]], was relaunched as ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' after the Piccolo Jr. arc, as the launch of a new show would give Creator/ToeiAnimation more promotional money. The original ''Dragon Ball'' anime was itself launched with a [[TheMerch merchandising plan]] already in mind.
370[[/folder]]
371
372[[folder:Comic Books]]
373* In 1996, writer Mark Waid and artist Ron Garney were unceremoniously removed from a critically acclaimed run on ComicBook/CaptainAmerica and replaced by Creator/RobLiefeld and Creator/JephLoeb. One year later, Waid & Garney were reinstated. At that year's Comic-Con, when asked why he would come back after what happened, Waid simply [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_gestures#Money_sign rubbed his fingers together]]
374* Comics great Fabian Nicieza once talked about his role in writing the poorly-received comic book ''ComicBook/NFLSuperpro'': "I was handed the concept and character, including his basic origin. I don't know if that was all the NFL's creative work or a combination of Marvel editorial and the NFL. I didn't ask. I just wanted Jets tickets."
375* Creator/ChristopherPriestComics did a mini-series in the '90s called ''Total Justice'', which was a [[MerchandiseDriven tie-in to a popular Batman toy line at the time]]. Today, Priest considers the series an OldShame and is adamant that he only agreed to write it because promotional books offer a better pay rate.
376* This is the primary reason why Ken Penders went to court over the characters and concepts he created for ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics''. While he claims that this was to also bring awareness to the other writers and artists shammed by Archie over reprinting rights, many fans claim that this was more of a money grab for a writer who is clearly trying to regain what he had in the past.
377** Head writer Ian Flynn has pretty much stated that the creation of ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsUnite'' is because of this trope, that had ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsCollide'' not happen nor prove popular, the ''ComicBook/MegaManArchieComics'' series would have been canceled.
378* [[ComicBook/LoveAndRockets Gilbert Hernandez]] has openly admitted that he only did ''Fatima: The Blood Spinners'' because ZombieApocalypse stories were fashionable and he thought that it might sell beyond his usual fanbase (it didn't).
379* Creator/AlanMoore has tried to avoid this [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules as much as humanly possible]], but he was trapped by it at least once when he did ''ComicBook/{{Neonomicon}}'' for Creator/AvatarPress.
380* Scott Lobdell is very open and unapologetic about being DC's go-to writer for [[ExecutiveMeddling editorially mandated stories]] that no one else wants to do. He has explained in interviews that he's comfortable with this because the characters ultimately belong to DC and not to him.
381[[/folder]]
382
383[[folder:Comic Strips]]
384* Creator/WilhelmBusch (from 19th century Germany) rather wanted to become a "real" artist, like a poet or a painter but found that people preferred his simpler, funny picture stories.
385* Charles M. Schulz freely admitted that he agreed to ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' endorsement and merchandising deals so he could have more money for his various philanthropic projects.
386* Jim Davis has infamously admitted that this trope was the sole reason behind the creation of ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}''.
387* Chester Gould of ''ComicStrip/DickTracy''. He saw himself as a businessman competing, in addition to other cartoonists, with the other sections of the newspaper, such as the front page. He created many of his stories and characters from situations ripped from the headlines (Flattop, created in the mid-'40s, was named after a WWII aircraft carrier). Although he was in it for the money, he found this sense of competition compelled him to create memorable stories and characters.
388[[/folder]]
389
390[[folder:Films (Multiple Individuals)]]
391%%
392%% ACTORS: List Film and TV Actors under "Individuals - Actors",
393%% unless you're talking about a project that involved multiple individuals.
394%% If it's an entry about an actor taking a particular role, or an actor's tendency over several roles,
395%% put it under "Individuals - Actors".
396%%
397* Any film made by Creator/UweBoll, for the actors involved. While his films were often poorly-received, he reportedly pays his actors well:
398** ''Film/AloneInTheDark2005'': Creator/ChristianSlater, Stephen Dorff, Tara Reid.
399** ''Film/InTheNameOfTheKing: A VideoGame/DungeonSiege Tale'': Starring Creator/JasonStatham, Creator/LeeleeSobieski, Claire Forlani, Ray Liotta, Creator/JohnRhysDavies, Creator/RonPerlman and Burt Reynolds (see above).
400** His ''Film/FarCry'' movie managed to have Til Schweiger, one of Germany's highest-rated actors. He told German gaming magazine ''[=GameStar=]'' in an interview that he was in it because Uwe Boll is apparently a very pleasant guy to work with as a director.
401** ''Film/BloodRayne'', featuring Creator/MichaelMadsen, Creator/MichelleRodriguez and Creator/BenKingsley[[note]]although he ''did'' [[AwesomeDearBoy also jump at the chance to play a vampire]][[/note]].
402** According to some theories, the only reason Boll's films get funded at all is people going for a SpringtimeForHitler situation. More on the trope page.
403* The spoof adaptation ''Film/CasinoRoyale1967''. Featuring Creator/DavidNiven, Creator/PeterSellers, Creator/UrsulaAndress, Creator/WoodyAllen, Creator/PeterOToole, Creator/OrsonWelles, Creator/DeborahKerr, Creator/JohnHuston... and nothing resembling coherence at any point. Part of the incoherence may be because Sellers wasn't in it for the money[[note]]When he signed on to the movie, it was pitched to him (and genuinely intended) as a straight and serious adaptation of the novel, with Sellers as the sole Bond of the film, and this to him was the draw -- a chance to try out his drama chops and leave comedy for a film. As writing went on and the producers felt they couldn't compete with the series, they turned it into a parody, leaving Sellers feeling he was the victim of a BaitAndSwitch. He retaliated by hiring his own writer to try and rewrite his scenes to something approximating the original vision, or outright ignoring the script altogether and making up his own dialogue.[[/note]] but proved extremely difficult to work with and was subsequently fired, leaving the producers with half a film which they roped Niven into completing.
404* In his autobiography, ''If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor'', Creator/BruceCampbell explains this reasoning in response to fan criticism of his appearances in stinkers like ''Film/{{Congo}}''. He reiterates that actors need to pay the bills like everyone else, and notes other side-benefits of being tied to a production. In the case of ''Congo'', he was flown to Costa Rica, and his scenes did not involve the rest of the main cast so he was only needed on set one day a week. The rest of the time he toured Costa Rica on the studio's dime, "which I would have done myself anyway!". As his ''Congo'' co-star Ernie Hudson once said: "[[Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}} If there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say.]]"
405* Creator/AlfredHitchcock was once quoted as saying, "If [an actor] asks me, 'What's my motivation?', I reply, '[[DeadpanSnarker Your salary]].'"
406* An entry in Creator/RogerEbert's "Little Movie Glossary" describes the effect of Creator/MarlonBrando's participation in a film as the "Brando Acceptability Yardstick" -- as the whole idea of respected actors doing comic book movies for the money can be traced to him. See the ''Film/{{Superman|FilmSeries}}'' franchise, ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', and ''Film/TheIslandOfDrMoreau1996''. Incidentally, Brando received, as a salary for the entirety of his work on ''Film/TheGodfather'', approximately 1% of his ''Superman: The Movie'' salary, which was once calculated by The Guinness Book of Records as '''eight dollars for every second he was on screen'''.
407** Creator/DavidThewlis said a huge paycheck, plus going to Australia and working with Brando, was a motivation for ''Dr. Moreau''. Given the TroubledProduction, he later regretted it. Thewlis skipped the film's premiere and has vowed to never watch it.
408* Creator/DenisLeary, Creator/RayLiotta and Creator/DannyGlover all appeared in ''Film/OperationDumboDrop'' for this reason. According to Leary, the three of them had pictures of real estate they wanted to buy to get them through the shoot.
409* Creator/BenAffleck once hawked ''Film/{{Paycheck}}'' on Creator/ConanOBrien. Conan asked him why he did the film, and Ben fittingly told him "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the answer lies in the title]]." Affleck appeared on a British chatshow to publicize the movie, only to be told by the enthusiastic host that it was one of the best science fiction films he had ever seen -- the host actually suggested that ''Paycheck'' was at least as good as ''Film/BladeRunner'', and asked Affleck if he agreed. You could see how bemused Affleck was as he admitted that he thought ''Blade Runner '' was the better movie. Co-star Creator/PaulGiamatti referred to the film as "the aptly-named ''Paycheck''" in an appearance on ''Series/TheDailyShow''.
410* Both Creator/MillaJovovich and director Creator/PaulWSAnderson have stated bluntly, at certain points, that the only reason that ''Film/ResidentEvilRetribution'' (as well as a [[Film/ResidentEvilTheFinalChapter the sixth film]]) were made was mostly for profit.
411* The ''Film/{{Superman|FilmSeries}}'' franchise has been the focus of a number of publicized instances involving the stars:
412** Creator/MarlonBrando was ultimately paid $14 million for 10 minutes as Jor-El.
413** Creator/GeneHackman, as Lex Luthor, also apparently swung a nice deal. Creator/ChristopherReeve asked Hackman why he chose to be in ''Superman''. Hackman replied: "you mean besides the six million dollars?" Hackman also admitted in interviews that his appearance in ''The Quest for Peace'' was entirely financially motivated. Admittedly, it couldn't be much else.
414* The "Curly Joe" era of the Film/TheThreeStooges was mostly this. However, it's easy to justify because the Stooges got royally screwed over on the shorts that made them famous.
415* ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'': Featuring the voice talents of Creator/OrsonWelles, Creator/LeonardNimoy, and Creator/EricIdle, among others, in what can best be described as an [[MerchandiseDriven 80-minute toy commercial]]. They were ''all'' in it for the money.
416** Welles told his biographer about the film, "I play a big toy who does horrible things to a bunch of smaller toys."
417** Idle admitted in his book ''The Greedy Bastard Diary'' that he had hated every minute of production. "Why did I do it, again? Oh, right, they offered me oodles of cash." [[http://www.avclub.com/articles/eric-idle,13802 He's also said]] that he never even watched the movie, and makes a habit out of it with such roles.
418** It is rumored that Leonard Nimoy was [[OldShame so embarrassed about it that he refused to address it for years afterward, whether in interviews or at science-fiction conventions]]. Only Creator/MichaelBay's interest in casting him as The Fallen in ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' prompted him to talk about his role, and then only briefly (and he also said that Bay could call him up if he wanted to, but Bay ultimately went with Tony Todd). Bay finally called up Nimoy to cast him as Sentinel Prime in ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon''.
419** That said, this negativity wasn't true of all the celebrities in the movie; Robert Stack and Creator/JuddNelson were in it to get paid and embraced their roles; Robert Stack (according to some production staff) liked the movie and Judd Nelson reprised his role for ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' 20 years later.
420** On the ''Film/{{Transformers|2007}}'' film, Creator/HugoWeaving has [[http://collider.com/hugo-weaving-the-hobbit-trilogy-interview/203015/ casually admitted]] to phoning in his performance as Megatron. He seems guilty about it.
421---> I just went in and did it. I never read the script. I just have my lines, and I don't know what they mean. That sounds absolutely pathetic! I've never done anything like that, in my life.
422** Michael Bay [[http://www.themarysue.com/michael-bay-hugo-weaving/ got passive-aggressive]] about this trope.
423* Both Creator/RobertPattinson and Creator/KristenStewart have said that they only did the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' movie for the money, and both of them have inserted {{Take That}}s against the book and its fans in interviews. Also, Pattinson said that he wanted to do ''Twilight'' in order to have the opportunity to work with Stewart, who, prior to ''Twilight'', was known as a serious actress who did mostly independent films ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and]] ''Film/{{Zathura}}''). Also, it's ''Kristen Stewart''. He was reportedly hitting on her throughout filming. Creator/JamieCampbellBower, who is playing Caius, also seems to have only signed on for the money as all he knew about ''Twilight'' prior to then was that the first movie had done well. And Pattinson has gone on record as saying he thinks Creator/StephenieMeyer is literally insane. Both lead actors have also been publicly caught in scandals, in what many anti-fans jokingly claim are attempts to get released from their contract... a hypothesis that was then backed up by Stewart in an interview.
424** It is pretty telling to note that Pattinson and Stewart collectively drove a particularly hard bargain going into ''[[Film/{{Twilight}} New Moon]]'' and negotiated a six-fold salary increase for themselves (in other words, these two people alone cost the filmmakers 40% of their budget).
425** David Slade, who publicly blasted the ''Twilight'' franchise prior to signing on to do ''Eclipse'', had to apologize for his comments later on. Given the budget for ''Film/HardCandy'', he can be forgiven for invoking this trope.
426* This has to explain ''Warrior of the Lost World'', which in addition to featuring Creator/DonaldPleasence, also provided an income for Robert Ginty, Persis Khambatta (pretty much only known for her role in ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture''), and Fred Williamson.
427* Scott Mendelson from ''Forbes'' has [[http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2015/04/30/so-laura-linney-has-joined-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-2/ noted]] that it has become common knowledge that any serious actor looking for real money acting in Hollywood outside of joining a TV series is to establish a character in a {{superhero}} or fantasy film franchise as soon as you can.
428* ''Film/TheBluesBrothers'': Want to know how the movie was filled to the brim with blues and soul royalty? ''The artists needed the money.'' We may think of Music/ArethaFranklin, Music/RayCharles, and Music/JamesBrown as legends today, but they and their peers saw their careers decline in the 1970s as disco became the dominant urban music genre. Many of them had a resurgence in popularity in the '80s due in no small part to the film's success. This was actually an InvokedTrope, as John Belushi was a huge fan of the various musicians and knew that they were struggling financially at the time, so he made a big effort to get them into both the film and sound track in order to help them out.
429* Mike Stoklasa and Jay Bauman of WebVideo/RedLetterMedia state in their DVDCommentary for ''Film/TheRecovered'' that making the film was like recording a wedding video because it was ''not'' a passion project. They just wanted to make a low-budget horror film that they could easily shoot and sell for a profit. However, they ultimately couldn't help inserting things that interested them rather than what mainstream audiences would want to buy. As a result, their "just for the money" film turned out extremely unmarketable.
430* For ''Film/{{Titanic|1997}}'', Creator/JamesCameron hired the Russian research ship ''Akademik Mstislav Keldysh'' for an expedition to the ''Titanic'' wreck site, and kept the ship and crew on to serve as set and extras once principal photography started. The ''Keldysh'' crew agreed to be in the film because the Russian economy was in tatters following the collapse of the USSR and they needed work.
431[[/folder]]
432
433[[folder:Literature]]
434* Creator/LouisaMayAlcott, who enjoyed writing thrillers and protofeminist tales, nearly turned down the publisher who suggested she write a book for young girls. One [[Literature/LittleWomen staggering success]] later, she decided that writing children's fiction was the most practical way to go.
435* L. Frank Baum, creator of the [[Literature/LandOfOz Wizard of Oz]] series repeatedly tried to end the franchise, which bored him, only to repeatedly come crawling back once his other non-Oz books failed to sell.
436* Creator/PeterBenchley was a freelance writer struggling to support his wife and children when during a meeting with a publisher, an old idea about a killer shark attracted interest. ''Literature/{{Jaws}}'' was mostly written as the payments poured in, with Benchley only continuing after the first 100 pages once his agent reminded him that if he did not deliver the pages, he would have to return the already cashed and spent money. Thankfully, it was a best-seller and inspired [[Film/{{Jaws}} a seminal film adaptation]].
437* Bruce Bethke, the author who actually invented the word "CyberPunk," [[http://www.brucebethke.com/articles/novels.html#wwwest now describes]] his involvement writing the ''Film/WildWildWest'' novelization in terms of OldShame, but earlier in the life of his website, he simply posted this:
438-->'''This is my house. Note the new roof.''' (photo of house)\
439'''This is how I paid for the roof.''' (cover of Wild Wild West novel)\
440'''Any more questions?'''
441* In-universe, Lawrence Block's hitman character Keller once retired and, feeling a bit bored, decided to take up a hobby and settled on stamp collecting. After a while, he gets back in touch with his former manager, who assumes he misses the work, but he eventually admits that stamp collecting is a pretty expensive hobby and he could use the money.
442* Creator/AnthonyBurgess basically belched out ''Literature/AClockworkOrange'' in a matter of weeks to pay off some debts. He regretted its glorification of violence and was annoyed by the way it overshadowed the rest of his work, causing quite a bit of CreatorBacklash.
443* Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs only started writing in his thirties during a period of low employment. He had been reading pulp magazines and thought that he could write at least as well as this garbage and get paid for it, despite never having written anything before. After his stories became successful he made all the money he could, in particular marketing Tarzan, his most successful character, in every way possible. This was against advice that doing so would overexpose the character. Burroughs was right though, the public couldn't get enough of Tarzan.
444* Creator/OrsonScottCard, a prolific author of fiction in genres ranging from science fiction to pious fiction, once answered the question, "Why do you write? What is your inspiration?" with [[http://www.hatrack.com/research/questions/q0116.shtml the answer]], "I write because nobody will pay me to do anything else. My inspiration is that from time to time we run out of money."
445* Creator/AgathaChristie openly acknowledged that she wrote ''The Mystery of the Blue Train'' and ''The Big Four'' because she needed money at the time that her first marriage was messily collapsing. It shows.
446* Creator/ThomasHardy always wanted to be a poet and said that poetry has a "supreme place in literature". However, he wrote novels only because, in his early years, he would not make a living as a poet. With the success of ''Literature/TessOfTheDUrbervilles'' and ''Literature/JudeTheObscure'' (not to mention the latter novel's ''very'' harsh reception upon publication), he returned to the less-lucrative career of poetry and spent the rest of his life writing poems.
447* Creator/ArthurConanDoyle had initially refused to revive Literature/SherlockHolmes (the man did, after all, kill Holmes off purely out of spite for the character). The huge sums of money editors were offering him for new Holmes stories, and his dwindling bank account, no doubt played a part in his decision to finally take the plunge. There is an anecdote sometimes cited that says that, tired of being asked to revive Holmes, he finally asked for a ridiculously huge sum of money that he knew the publishers wouldn't be able to pay, and was appropriately shocked when they immediately said yes. Doyle was paid around 600 Pounds per Holmes story, worth about 80,000 Pounds (or $125,000) today
448* After his wife gave birth to their fifth child, Creator/CharlesDickens needed some cash to cover the doctor's bills. Six weeks later he had written and sold ''Literature/AChristmasCarol''. Something of an aversion in that, even though it was almost immediately a critical hit and is regarded as a classic today, it ultimately didn't make Dickens as much money as he hoped it would -- he had to pay for the publication of it himself because his usual publishers refused, but what set him back was his insistence of hand-colored illustrations and page decorations, which ate into his share of the profits.
449** ''Literature/GreatExpectations'' was only written because Dickens's magazine 'All The Year Round' was doing poorly and the only thing that would revive it was a serialized Dickens novel.
450** Dickens, like many other authors at the time, was also paid per installment leading to some of his longer works like ''Literature/BleakHouse'', ''Literature/LittleDorrit'', and ''Literature/OurMutualFriend''.
451* As noted before, this trope doesn't necessarily result in bad fiction -- think of the doorstopping evergreens by Creator/FyodorDostoevsky and Creator/AlexandreDumas. Both were paid per line. In the case of Dostoyevsky, his urgent need to repay his gambling debts caused him to write ''Literature/CrimeAndPunishment'' at a crazy speed. This is thought to be one of the reasons for the novel's unique flow of thoughts making it both an inspiration to psychoanalysis and Joyce's stream of consciousness.
452* It has been claimed by several close associates and friends that one of the biggest reasons Ian Fleming created ''Literature/JamesBond'' was that he needed a way to look after his brand new wife and baby whilst maintaining his luxurious and exotic jet-set party lifestyle, his holiday home in Jamaica (that was a money-sink for ten months of the year) and his many (eventually fatal) vices such as his seventy a day smoking habit and borderline alcoholic drink intake. It didn't help that Ann Fleming was just as keen to live the rich and glamorous life as her husband.
453* Creator/FrederickForsyth started a struggling journalist who had covered various conflicts in France and Africa as a journalist but couldn't find a full-time job. He decided to fictionally recount his experiences and several best-selling novels (''Literature/TheDayOfTheJackal'', ''Literature/TheOdessaFile'', and ''Literature/TheDogsOfWar'' among them) resulted.
454* Creator/WilliamGibson, [[http://news.ansible.uk/a45.html explaining]] that the version of ''Literature/CountZero'' serialised in ''Asimov's'' was {{Bowdlerise}}d, said that he decided to allow these changes "when it was pointed out to me how urgently young people in small towns in the US ''need'' fiction of this sort, and how much my new car is going to cost."
455* Robert Graves claimed he wrote ''Literature/IClaudius'' and ''Claudius the God'' for this reason.
456** This was his stated motive for writing all of his novels; he considered himself primarily a poet but was plagued with money problems throughout his life.
457* Creator/RobertAHeinlein's writing career started as a way to pay off debts incurred in an unsuccessful run for office, in 1937. The male protagonist of ''Literature/TheCatWhoWalksThroughWalls'' took this trope as his own.
458-->'''Richard Ames''': The most beautiful prose in the English language is "Pay to the order of..."
459* In the midst of writing some of his most highly-regarded ''Literature/ConanTheBarbarian'' stories, author Creator/RobertEHoward also churned out "Literature/ManEatersOfZamboula," a completely paint-by-numbers story with a DamselInDistress who’s naked throughout the whole thing. It was pretty obviously written because Howard knew he could immediately sell it to ''Weird Tales'' and get the higher cover-story rate.
460* Creator/SamuelJohnson wrote ''Rasselas'' in only seven days to pay for his mother's funeral. He wrote in his defense than only a blockhead ''wouldn't'' write for money.[[note]]For something he more or less dashed off, it must not have been too bad; Creator/CharlotteBronte in her novel ''Literature/JaneEyre'', has Jane's BoardingSchoolOfHorrors friend Helen Burns reading it; we can guess that Maria Bronte, Charlotte's ChildProdigy older sister (who died at the school) had read and liked it too.[[/note]]
461* In-universe example in Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/{{Misery}}''. Paul Sheldon is the writer of a series of romantic historical fiction books following the exploits of the titular heroine, Misery Chastain. Paul hates Misery as a character due to her being a CanonSue and has been stuck writing her stories for years but put up with it because he needs the income to put braces on his daughter's teeth and cover her college fund. Throughout the novel, he comes to realize that his motivations for writing his TrueArt book (Awards Dear Boy) isn't all that better.
462* T.E. Lawrence never planned to have his wartime memoir, ''Seven Pillars of Wisdom'', widely published in his lifetime aside from printing a limited "subscriber's edition" for his friends. But Lawrence's friends persuaded him to publish an abridged version titled ''Revolt in the Desert'' in 1927 to clear his considerable debts and obtain relative financial security after his first failed attempt to join the Royal Air Force as an enlisted man.
463* From a [[http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4933/the-art-of-fiction-no-13-dorothy-parker1956 1956 Paris Review interview]] with Creator/DorothyParker:
464-->'''Parker:''' All those writers who write about their childhood! Gentle God, if I wrote about mine you wouldn't sit in the same room with me.\
465'''Paris Review:''' What, then, would you say is the source of most of your work?\
466'''Parker:''' Need of money, dear.
467* Creator/RobertBParker's primary motivation for writing was so he could provide his family with a comfortable life without needing to work a 9-to-5 job. His characters live on in books by other authors so his family can continue receiving royalties.
468** An in-universe example occurs in the novel ''Shrink Rap'' when a Creator/TomCruise [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed stand-in]] named Hal Race threatens to leave after the lead character refuses to take her dog out of the room, and the author of a book that he's interested in playing a role in a film adaptation tells him he can take a hike if he doesn't cut the attitude. Sure enough, he stays. When asked later why the author was willing to risk him walking, she replies with this trope. Then deconstructed, when she goes into a fair amount of detail of the way a person like Hal lives, the image he has to project, and how the cost of all that adds up even when you are pretty successful.
469* Editor Fred Pohl of Bantam Books initially turned down the proposal for the nonfiction book ''[[https://fanlore.org/wiki/Star_Trek_Lives!_(book) Star Trek Lives!]]'' by Joan Winston, [[Literature/SimeGen Jacqueline Lichtenberg]] and Sondra Marshak. Later he accepted it when he realized there were still zillions of ''Star Trek'' fans who would be interested (many had only discovered it during the years of syndication and had no idea fanzines or fan fiction existed). While David Gerrold's ''World of Star Trek'' (1973) had a chapter describing the fandom, fan fiction and even named several of the best fanzines, ''Star Trek Lives!'' is ''all'' about the fandom. One chapter was devoted to FanFic, naming some of the best works and authors, with a few excerpts, including some PG-13 sex[[note]]this was in the days before all fan fiction was SlashFic; people were writing it, but it was passed around privately, not published even in fanzines, and wouldn't be until 1982, partly because it was ''[[https://fanlore.org/wiki/Slash_Controversies illegal]]''. In the early days, fan stories often read like episodes of the show, or were tales of introspection and cultural reflection, like the lengthy ''[[https://fanlore.org/wiki/Kraith Kraith]]'' series, without explicit sex or pairings, slash or otherwise[[/note]]. Reader response was overwhelming, and Pohl smelled money. If fan fiction was what readers wanted, he was more than happy to sell it to them: that is the origin of the two ''Literature/StarTrekTheNewVoyages'' anthologies, and the subsequent professionally published fan novels.
470* Creator/TerryPratchett, in an interview with Stephen Briggs in the third edition of ''[[Literature/{{Discworld}} The Discworld Companion]]'', on not having won many literary awards and the hint that the Booker prize may be opened up to more popular works: "A 'popular' book means the author has already got what a true writer craves: a lot of readers and a big cheque". He once said of being beaten out for a Hugo award "On the other hand, going home and falling backward into a big pile of money always helps." Of course, Sir Terry's (Kt, OBE, Ph.D. (x8, all honorary)) lack of literary awards was likely due to the SciFiGhetto more than any lack of talent on his part.
471** When asked if he was jealous of the money that Douglas Adams made, he replied: "Not at all, especially since it's been tactfully pointed out that I had to change banks after filling the last one up."
472** In fact, in one of his books, he claims that the dream of every publisher is "to have so much gold in one's pockets that you have to hire two people to hold your pants up."
473** In one of his last interviews, conducted by his PA, Rob Wilkins, with questions supplied by fans, one of the questions was if there was any message he hoped readers would get from the books. Sir Terry asked Rob if he could answer that, and Rob correctly suggested "Buy the next one". Rob's biography of Terry creates an impression of someone who was passionate and enthusiastic about his writing, but who ultimately viewed it as a ''job''. And the point of a job, of course, is that you get paid for it.
474* The "penny dreadful" pulp authors of the 1930s, when magazines paid $0.01 a word. Of course, "penny dreadfuls" have been around for much longer than that. UsefulNotes/BenjaminDisraeli wrote a bunch of cheap {{Romance Novel}}s for the sole and explicit purpose of funding his political career (politics didn't pay nearly as well back then as it does now).
475* Mario Puzo was a struggling novelist who published two autobiographical novels, ''The Dark Arena'' and ''The Fortunate Pilgrim'', that sold poorly. Deeply in debt and unable to break out of poorly-paid freelance jobs, Puzo turned to a publisher friend for help. The publisher suggested he write about organized crime, a subject Puzo was neither especially interested in nor knowledgable about. Three years of research and writing later, ''Literature/TheGodfather'' resulted.
476* The ultimate example may be Creator/WilliamShakespeare. The plays were probably written for the quick profit and the poetry to increase the author's social standing in the Elizabethan court. Not surprisingly, ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' seems to be the major exception.
477* Edward Stratemeyer, he of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, could be seen in modern times as being a little chauvinistic (of course, remember, [[ValuesDissonance this was the 1920s,]] feminism was only just beginning to come into focus.) So why did he end up creating and outlining ''Literature/NancyDrew'', who has been seen as a feminist role model by many? Because when he saw how many girls were reading ''Literature/TheHardyBoys'' books, a little voice in his head said, [[Film/FieldOfDreams "If you write them, they will buy."]] This was also true of most of the many ghostwriters, who got paid fairly well for the books (roughly one month's work could net six weeks’ pay.) Although there were at least two aversions to this, though. Two of the most prominent ghostwriters, Mildred Wirt Benson for Nancy and Leslie [=McFarlane=] for the Hardys, actually did put quite a bit of effort into their characters (at least initially, [=McFarlane=] grew tired of the stories later.)
478* Arguably the entire point of the Spackman Initiative in ''Literature/ThePaleKing'' by Creator/DavidFosterWallace.
479* Creator/HarlanEllison put out two collections of his earliest pulp work under the title ''Honorable Whoredom.''
480* While it wasn't his motivation for starting the novel, Creator/MarkTwain had left ''Literature/AdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn'' unfinished because he was unsatisfied with the work and didn't wish to write anymore. He only finished the novel when it reached the point where he desperately needed the money, and there are points where it shows. ''Tom Sawyer Abroad'' and ''Tom Sawyer, Detective'' are even straighter examples because they owe their very existence to the very same situation.
481* Tony Schwartz ghostwrote ''[[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump The Art of the Deal]]'' at a time when he was facing a high mortgage as his family was growing.
482* ''Literature/MikeHammer'': Mickey Spillane stated that his primary motivation for writing Mike Hammer novels was the lucra and that he only wrote a new one when he needed more.
483[[/folder]]
484
485[[folder:Live-Action TV (Multiple Individuals)]]
486%% a
487%% ACTORS: List Film and TV Actors under "Individuals - Actors",
488%% unless you're talking about a project that involved multiple individuals.
489%% If it's an entry about an actor taking a particular role, or an actor's tendency over several roles,
490%% put it under "Individuals - Actors".
491%%
492* ''{{Series/Charmed|1998}}'':
493** Creator/HollyMarieCombs was rumored to want to leave the show after Creator/ShannenDoherty's departure in Season 4. But she was forced to stay by contract and had bills to pay.
494** Creator/RoseMcGowan took the role of Paige because she only expected to be "in and out" (her initial contract was for two seasons). She did not expect to stay on for five years. She had no problem pointing out that she just liked having a steady paycheck. Nonetheless, she did appear to have some affection for the show, if her interviews years later are anything to go by.
495* Creator/TomBaker openly admits that the thing that attracted him to the role of the Doctor in ''Series/DoctorWho'' was less "Money, Dear Boy" and more like "''Job'', Dear Boy". Between being out-of-work and giving away most of his things in a bout of delusional suicidal ideation he was technically homeless and underemployed as a tea-maid on a building site. He had been begging the BBC for roles and said he would have taken ''anything''.
496** On a similar note, Creator/PatrickTroughton initially felt daunted about replacing Creator/WilliamHartnell as the Doctor. On the other hand, he had a large family and the prospect of long-term work was too good to pass up.
497* In-universe, in ''{{Series/Episodes}}'' where [[Creator/MattLeBlanc Matt [=LeBlanc=]]] is forced to take a job as a game show host because he owes a lot of tax money, and needs to pay it off fast.
498* Mocked on ''[[https://youtu.be/wL9cV0-SuxY Inside Amy Schumer]]'', when Amy is cast in a voice-acting role alongside Creator/JessicaAlba and Creator/MeganFox in a movie about superpowered meerkats... only to find out that the other two are voicing slinky, sexy meerkats, while she's voicing "Dumpy, the Frumpy Meerkat", [[FatBastard who won't even fit into pants]] due to being Japanese-made.
499-->'''Agent''': Amy, meet... your action figure!\
500''(Action figure of Dumpy toddles along while dropping poop pellets)''\
501'''Amy''': It's ''shitting''!\
502'''Agent''': Yeah, the thing retails for $42.99, and you get 60% of the back-end.\
503'''Amy''': ''(Turning to face the mic)'' '''[[LargeHam Wooooorrrrrrrms!]]'''
504* The producers of ''Series/{{Lost}}'' managed to get almost every main character back for at least one episode in the sixth and last season. The exception was Mr. Eko, as actor [[Creator/AdewaleAkinnuoyeAgbaje Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje]] asked for too much money.
505* The two lead actors on ''Series/MyFamily'', Creator/RobertLindsay and Zoë Wanamaker, disliked the show's writing, with Lindsay saying "There's some real dross (in the scripts) and we're aware of it". This trope is probably why they stuck with it.
506* A RunningGag (but probably more true than people would admit) on ''Series/NevermindTheBuzzcocks'', is that most of the contestants and guest presenters are only there for the paycheck. As Creator/CatherineTate put it:
507-->''"When they asked me to do the show. I thought; well I don't know anything about music. But on the other hand, that kitchen extension is not going to pay for itself."''
508* Then-well-known stage actors James Daly and Louise Sorel, who guest-starred together in the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS3E19RequiemForMethuselah Requiem for Methuselah]]" as Flint and Reyna, respectively. Both thought the series was childish and cartoony and later both admitted the only reason they did the episode was the paycheck.
509-->'''Louise Sorel:''' (about the episode) "They put me in this funny costume – I stood still and they just wrapped fabric around me – and I had an Annette Funicello bouffant and Dusty Springfield eye make-up. James Daly and I thought of ourselves as these two very serious theater actors. He kept looking at me and asking, "Why on Earth are we doing this?" I kept telling him, 'Christmas money.'"
510* On a somewhat more local level, ''Totally Hidden Video'' once did an episode in which several different kinds of professional musicians were hired to play for a wedding with it only being revealed to them once they arrived that the newlyweds were... [[CandidCameraPrank a pair of dogs]]. Since they were, after all, being paid their going rate to perform for the happy couple, the most reaction the camera was able to get out of any of them was a rather long and curious stare before they set up their instruments and went to work. To keep the audience amused, therefore, the show also milked some comedy out of the ''dogs' reaction'' to the musicians. (They didn't like the mariachis very much, but they did cradle their heads together for a romantic love ballad from one of the other bands.)
511* It seems that a sitcom is doomed as soon as its star/s become/s the "highest paid on television." (Notably, ''Seinfeld'', ''Frasier'', ''Friends'').
512* ''Series/TheGreatBritishBakeOff'':
513** Mel has confessed that she joined ''Bake Off'' in the first place largely because she and her husband were so broke that they had to sell their home.
514** After seven series, the show moved from the Creator/{{BBC}} to Creator/ChannelFour thanks solely to the commercial channel's ability to offer more money. ITV also made a fairly high offer, but that was contingent on the production company being able to bring along the presenters and judges... which didn't go over all that well. In fact, immediately after the ChannelHop was made public, Mel and Sue stated in a characteristically punny joint statement to the effect that they weren't going to "follow the dough".[[note]]They also weren't at all happy to have been ambushed with the news on short notice, and had previously voiced grave doubts that the show would be able to maintain its high standards on a commercial broadcaster.[[/note]]
515** As for the judges, Mary came to the same decision as Mel and Sue, putting out a statement that she was staying with the BBC out of loyalty and thanks for the broadcaster giving her a career boost. Paul, on the other hand, decided to stay with ''Bake Off'' and move to Channel Four.
516* ''Series/LoveIsland'':
517** Molly-Mae Hague, from Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England, went on the show ''because'' of this trope and assuming the show would have a good paycheck, and things turned out quite well for her, with her becoming an influencer in her post-Love Island career. Where she was from was a wealthy part of England anyway, but it wasn't the mega-rich Home Counties stereotype.
518** Lucie Donlan, from Cornwall, also went on the show for the paycheck, but this was only known after the fact; as it were, she was a small-time model before the show, but her public profile was raised ''due to it'' and the fact she went in for the money probably contributed to this.
519* On a similar note: ''Creator/{{BBC}} Breakfast'' presenter Susanna Reid [[https://susannareidfans.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/the-bbc-runs-through-me-like-a-stick-of-rock-susanna-reid-dismisses-claims-that-she-is-considering-jumping-ship-following-strictly-come-dancing-success/ laughed off rumors in 2013 ]]that she was looking to leave the Beeb. [[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26351796 she did so for a hefty paycheck: £1 million a year]]. She presents ''Good Morning Britain'' four days a week alongside the divisive Piers Morgan (well, until he quit ''on air'' in 2021).
520* This trope is the reason why so many UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} women in the '90's and 2000's appeared on daytime {{talk show}}s in demeaning and exploitative "My Girlfriend Has a Secret" and "Man or Woman?" episodes. They were offered thousands of dollars that could go towards transitioning.
521* ''Series/TheGoodPlace'':
522** Creator/MannyJacinto, who plays Jason, admits he took the role because he was broke at the time.
523** Creator/DarcyCarden was a more downplayed version of this trope, admitting that as a struggling actor, she was willing to take almost anything at the time she was offered the part, but her dream was to be on a Mike Schur show anyway. Overlaps with AwesomeDearBoy.
524* ''Series/TheWestWing'': Creator/RichardSchiff ''[[CreatorBacklash hated]]'' the storyline for Toby Ziegler in the last season, feeling it was a betrayal of the character. He only stayed on the show because the producers agreed to pay him a full season's salary even though he only appeared in roughly half of the episodes.
525* ''Series/NightCourt'' was supposed to end after Season 8 and everyone was ready to move on. However, Creator/{{NBC}} unexpectedly ordered a ninth season and convinced the entire cast to say by offering, in Creator/MarkiePost's words, "jumbo buckets full of money."
526[[/folder]]
527
528[[folder:Music]]
529* Even Music/TheBeatles weren't immune to this, according to Music/PaulMcCartney:
530-->"Somebody said to me, 'But the Beatles were anti-materialistic.' That's a huge myth. John and I literally used to sit down and say, 'Now, let's write a swimming pool.'"
531* Supposedly, lead singer Tarja Turunen's focus on money was the reason she was kicked out of the band Music/{{Nightwish|Band}}.
532* Music/TheBoomtownRats never bothered to pretend that they weren't at least partly in it for the large sacks of cash they were getting out of their success, unlike pretty much every other British/Irish punk band of the era, particularly Music/TheClash. Interestingly enough, whilst Bob Geldof went on to devote his fame and connections to [[UsefulNotes/LiveAid one of the greatest humanitarian endeavors of the 1980s]], [[Music/JohnLydon John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon]] of the Music/SexPistols, after a decade of DoingItForTheArt with his acclaimed experimental band Music/PublicImageLtd, later drew criticism for appearing in a butter commercial. And while the artists appearing at Live Aid were unpaid, many of them were fully aware of the exposure they would get from their performances. While not entirely a case of this trope, some of the less keen artists were persuaded by their managers (and Bob himself in many cases) to take part because of the resulting publicity that would translate into increased sales.
533* Music/{{Anthrax}} rhythm guitarist Scott Ian responded to charges that the band was "selling out" with new singer John Bush and the more mainstream-sounding ''Sound of White Noise'' album by noting in an interview that "The bottom line is, everyone in this business is in it to make money. Myself included."
534* Another example from Music/JayZ's "Moment of Clarity": ''I dumbed down for my audience, doubled my dollars/ [[UnpleasableFanbase They criticize me for it, but they all yell "Holla!"]]''
535* In an interview on Creator/VH1 some years back, Music/KidRock responded to comments made by another rock star in the vein of DoingItForTheArt. "I'm in the for the music? You're a lying sack of shit. You're a musician, I'm a musician, of course you're in it for the music; that's a given. Why are you REALLY doing it?" ''Imitating the other artist:'' ''Money and girls."
536* Legendary band Music/{{KISS}} is blatantly and unapologetically in it for the money. Founder and bandleader Gene Simmons makes no bones about it. [[CashCowFranchise If there's a buck to be made, KISS will do it.]] They'll license anything if the money is right; action figures, lunch boxes, coffins, condoms, and so on. Their unique work and over-the-top live shows were designed to draw people in and make more money. To their credit, their shows are still excellent, even at their age.
537-->'''Gene Simmons:''' God gives you a wallet, and you can have less money or more, what would you pick?
538** Back in the '70s, Gene Simmons was asked if his mother approved Simmons' demonic stage makeup and costume. His response was, "Well, I don't know about that, but I know she approves of the house I bought her, so I guess it evens out."
539* Music/WeirdAlYankovic has often said "I wrote 'Eat It' because I wanted to buy a house. It worked."
540* [[Music/JohnLydon John Lydon/Johnny Rotten]] said quite bluntly that The Music/SexPistols reunion tour in the mid-'90s was for "your money." The tour was even called "Never Mind the Sex Pistols, Here's the Filthy Lucre." Lydon's late-2000s ads for [[https://youtu.be/WrRccqnCb3U butter products]] were simply done so he could fund a Music/PublicImageLtd reunion without a record deal.
541* Music/{{Tool}}'s song "Hooker with a Penis" is in response to former fans who accused them of selling out for the money. The song essentially states that every professional musician you've ever heard has sold out for the money, otherwise you'd have never heard their music in the first place. The most telling sequence is "All you know about me is what I've sold you / Dumb fuck / I sold out long before you ever heard my name / I sold my soul to make a record / Dip shit / And you bought one."
542* The Music/BowlingForSoup song "A Really Cool Dance Song" lampshades this trope. The song is about a band that needs money, so they write a dance song, as dance songs are popular and sell albums.
543--> Now we're getting older, and much more sober,\
544And we've got some big house payments to make.\
545The wife wants a handbag, the kids need some college,\
546And we just need one hit single to break.\
547Get ready here it comes!
548* Finding out your entire retirement fund has been looted by a third party is never fun, but at least Music/LeonardCohen could fill it up with a few new concerts (which turned into three studio albums and one touring album).
549** Really his whole career could be attributed to this. Cohen saw himself as a poet first, with a poor singing voice to boot. Songwriting and performing paid better.
550* Music/DuaLipa is an artist whose tour schedule falls into this trope; incidentally, her single "Break My Heart" is ''both'' OneForTheMoneyOneForTheArt simultaneously. Incidentally, it was ''very'' much a moment of this for Ariana Martin, the stunt double for her in her single "Physical"'s video.
551* Music/GordonLightfoot was enraged when his label wanted to rename his poorly-selling album "Sit Down Young Stranger" to "If You Could Read My Mind" after the single of the same name started charting, going so far as to fly to LA to confront the label execs directly. He was told that renaming the album was "the difference between ''x'' and 7''x''". Needless to say, he got his 7''x''.
552* Interviewer: "What does 'Help Me Make It Through The Night' mean to you now?" Creator/KrisKristofferson: "Oh, about a hundred thousand dollars a year."
553* Most reunions seem to be examples of this trope, but the Music/DeadKennedys' has been a particularly JustForFun/{{egregious}} example due to the band's former anti-corporate stance. The band (minus Jello Biafra) now licenses songs for television commercials.
554* Music/TheMonkees were on a British interview program just before their 2011 reunion tour kicked off. When asked why they were getting back together again, Peter Tork looked directly into the camera and (jokingly and literally) rubbed his fingers together..
555** A major reason Music/MichaelNesmith usually declines Monkees reunions is because of inheriting his late mother Bette's fortune for inventing liquid paper, making him independently wealthy. He is also hesitant to step away from his Pacific Arts corporation for too long, for fear that the small company may unravel (a fear only compounded by problems with PBS, who bought the company in TheSeventies, and in which Michael sued successfully in The Nineties).
556** Peter Tork very much falls into this trope. He had the richest musical background of the original group, but like all of them was sidelined by session musicians and got fewer lead vocals than the other three. That's why he was the first to quit. This led to a wild rollercoaster ride that saw him lose his Laurel Canyon mansion (where reputedly [[Music/CrosbyStillsNashAndYoung David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash]] first performed together at a party), then serve a prison sentence for drug possession, then take oddball jobs like a singing waiter and a teacher at a small private high school as he tried to revive his music career. Debt finally convinced him to go along with the 1986 reunion, although he seems to have started enjoying himself after that.
557* Music/{{Sting}} is often bewildered at "[[AntiLoveSong Every Breath You Take]]" [[IsntItIronic interpretation as a romantic song]], often played at people's weddings. But the ''£500,000 a year'', he earns from it in royalties as the most played song on UK and US radio probably helps.
558** This is also likely the reason why Sting, a devoted environmentalist, agreed to shill for Jaguar and Compaq Computers during the promotion of his "Brand New Day" album. The Jaguar deal alone brought in more than 3 million extra sales of the album and covered the costs of promoting the album (as the song "Desert Rose" was played in the commercial). Likewise, Sting and his production team got more than $7 million from Compaq, who sponsored the "Brand New Day Tour". Sting made out like a total bandit at the end of this.[[note]]And of course there's nothing preventing him from devoting that money to earth-saving projects.[[/note]]
559* In his autobiography ''Life'', Music/KeithRichards says that he formed the side project X-Pensive Winos in the '80s for several reasons: the Stones were on an indefinite hiatus, Keith wanted to get back on the road, and he still had a lot of bills to pay. Later on, he specifically notes he enjoys the royalties that one of the Winos' songs gets from its inclusion in an episode of ''Series/TheSopranos''. He also talks at length about the fact that the Stones barely broke even in their early years due to a heavily-unfair record company contract, and that the renegotiation of their contract in the early '80s allowed them to get much more royalties than normal, which is why they officially license all their own products (for big paychecks).
560* The song "American Pie" from ''Music/AmericanPie'' is often debated by music critics for its metaphorical lyrics and veiled references. What exactly does it mean? Music/DonMcLean has been asked several times, and his answer is always the same. 'It means I never have to work again.'
561* An early magazine interview with Music/TheWho utilized a format where each band member filled in a form answering a standard set of questions. John Entwistle's stated "Personal Ambition" was "To be rich." His "Professional Ambition"? "[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment To be rich]]."
562** A sad twist to this is that Pete Townshend partially took The Who on the road in the late [[TheNineties 1990s]] to help Entwistle recover from financial problems he had at the time (and partly to distract John from his cocaine habit). Unfortunately, Entwistle died of a heart attack aggravated by cocaine usage.
563%%* Music/LittleMix have fallen into this trope; well, at least one of them.
564* Music/PinkFloyd [[ZigzaggedTrope zigzags]] this with ''Music/TheWall''. The band faced financial mismanagement and heavy taxation in England by 1978 and had to enter tax exile in France while the group's lawyers settled the management situation and recovered the band's uninvested money. The album was make-or-break and ''had'' to be a smash success to keep the band afloat; the group conceded to co-producer Bob Ezrin's suggestion to give "Another Brick In The Wall Part 2" a disco beat and release it as a single (they were normally very anti-single since the late 1960s). It would explain [[TroubledProduction much of the pressures between the group]] that gradually tore them apart.
565* In 1972, Music/ThinLizzy were asked to record a Music/DeepPurple cover album, to capitalize on the popularity of that group -- they were reluctant because they wanted to focus on building an identity through their own original material, but they needed the money. Phil Lynott felt he couldn't imitate Ian Gillan's vocal style, and they needed a keyboard player because the electric organ was a key part of Deep Purple's sound, so Benny White and Dave Lennox, members of fellow Dublin group Elmer Fudd, were asked to step in for those roles. Ultimately, the album was recorded in one day, consisted of five Deep Purple songs and four AlbumFiller instrumentals, and was released under the name ''Funky Junction''.
566* Music/JerryGoldsmith used to joke that scoring the ''Franchise/{{Rambo}}'' movies paid for his house. But he ''wasn't'' joking when he told an interviewer in 1981 that money was why he did so much TV work in the 1970s (like ''Series/BarnabyJones'' and ''Series/TheWaltons'') -- he didn't get many big-screen assignments in the first half of that decade.
567* Music/FrankZappa and the Mothers of Invention released an album called ''Music/WereOnlyInItForTheMoney''. This was actually his judgment on what Music/TheBeatles were about.[[note]]The album's cover art is a clear parody of ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand''.[[/note]] Music/PaulMcCartney himself has indicated Zappa wasn't really wrong.
568* GlamRock band Music/{{Wizzard}}'s large line-up, piano destroying on-stage antics, and high recording costs made them an expensive band to maintain. As a result, they did a lot of tours to pay the bills.
569* Trent Reznor stated that Music/NineInchNails agreed to perform at Woodstock '94 solely for the money in order to compensate for the cost of the 'Self-Destruct' Tour going on at the same time.
570* Someone once asked Music/RodStewart if he had heard what Music/TomWaits thought about his cover of "Downtown Train." Rod replied that Tom had let him know that he'd bought his family a new swimming pool, and Rod had paid for it!
571* Music/CaptainBeefheart cited this trope as the reason why he turned to a more conventional sound from ''The Spotlight Kid'' to ''Bluejeans and Moonbeams''. He was tired of living on food stamps and loans from family members and wanted to make music that would earn him more money. Despite his hopes, the albums failed to give him the commercial success he wanted, so he went back to his signature experimental sound with ''Shiny Beast'' and continued in that direction until multiple sclerosis forced him to retire from music in the 1980s.
572* Music/LizPhair had a stretch scoring TV shows that was caused by this, as she sung on "Bollywood" (though [[https://www.ascap.com/playback/2010/08/Radar_Report/Liz-Phair.aspx the story went that]] instead of Liz seeking work through her friend, future ''Series/{{Revenge}}'' creator Mike Kelley, he actually invited her):
573-->I was tripping looking at my portfolio\
574Wondering how I was gonna make enough dough y'know\
575Called up a friend who wrote for ''Series/OneTreeHill'' and ''Series/{{Jericho|2006}}''\
576He had a job for me, and check it, with a four-letter company
577* Until the 19th Century almost all composers were employed to write music for wealthy patrons or the church. This includes Music/JohannSebastianBach, who worked for Prince Johann Ernst of Sachsen-Weimar, and Music/JosephHaydn, who spent much of his career as a court musician for the wealthy Esterházy family. Most of the masterpieces of Music/WolfgangAmadeusMozart were also originally commisioned by noblemen or wealthy merchants.
578* In her book ''M Train'', Music/PattiSmith describes spending the summer of 2012 taking on a huge amount of work projects -- concerts, lectures, writing -- in order to earn enough to buy a little house on Rockaway Beach she's fallen in love with. She made it, sealed the deal, bought the place and began restoring it before Hurricane Sandy hit. (Amazingly, the house was one of the few not to be wiped out. Patti is still working on it; she shows its progress on her Instagram.)
579* When asked why he [[AWildRapperAppears appears as a guest on so many other artists' music]], Music/SnoopDogg replied that he'll say yes to almost anything as long as he gets paid up front.
580* Music/ChrisStapleton said as much about "Never Wanted Nothing More", which he co-wrote. "Ronnie (Bowman, the song's co-writer) came to me and said 'Why don't we write a hit?' and we did it. It bought me a house, thanks Music/KennyChesney"
581[[/folder]]
582
583[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
584
585* [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson]] walked away from his highly successful professional wrestling career at age 32 after having a small measure of success in ''Film/TheMummyReturns'' and ''Film/TheScorpionKing''. His film career worked out, as he eventually climbed to Hollywood's highest-paid actor in 2017 after a string of blockbuster hits. He has stated in interviews that he liked wrestling more, but making films paid better, didn't require him to travel as much and didn't take as much of a toll on his body.
586* The reason why Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and especially Bret Hart left Wrestling/{{WWE}} and came to Wrestling/{{WCW}}, since Vince [=McMahon=] couldn't compete with Ted Turner's million dollar contracts. Kevin Nash has stated in the past year in interviews on ''[[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]] [=iMPACT=]!'' that he was only in TNA for the money. After he went back to WWE, Nash admitted that he signed with WCW for similar reasons: a guaranteed contract with creative control and a sweet clause in his contract that allowed him to be paid the same amount of money as the highest-paid guy in the promotion[[note]]From an interview: "Say you're a guy working the drive-thru at Burger King and the fast food joint across the street will double your take home and you'll have to only work half as many shifts, what would you do? I mean, yeah, it's Hardee's, but fuck it!". Though Nash would state that WCW's fully guaranteed contract (as opposed to Vince's UsefulNotes/HollywoodAccounting like calculation of payoffs where you never knew how big that check was gonna be until you cashed it) was the main reason he jumped ship[[/note]]. To sum up his mindset, he once said in an interview "It's funny, they all call it 'the business', but the second you start treating it like a business you're the bad guy." Or as Hall put it: "It's the wrestling '''business''', not wrestling friends."
587* Back in 1990 while with WCW Wrestling/BrianPillman was given an ultimatum by new booker Ole Anderson: take a pay cut, or [[SquashMatch get squashed]] in the opening match every night until his contract expired. Pillman responded by saying he'd be thrilled to be the highest paid [[{{Jobber}} curtain-jerker]] in wrestling. As it turned out people higher up on the Turner food chain were Pillman fans, so he got a push instead.
588* According to [[Wrestling/MollyHolly Miss Madness/Mona]], a good deal of Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro Girls were perfectly fine entertaining the live audience during the commercial breaks and had no desire to get in the ring but agreed to go to the Power Plant because they liked having an income. For this reason, she decided to go easy on them in training.
589** Later on as Wrestling/MollyHolly she was WWE's resident Diva ButtMonkey (largely due to her unwillingness to be MsFanservice like the other women they had) but she ended up staying in WWE because it was good money. After a breast cancer scare in 2005, she realized how unhappy she really was there and when WWE refused to let her do the one thing that would have made it bearable for her (a HeelFaceTurn, as she never liked being a heel and had wanted to be a good role model) she asked for her release and retired from wrestling. She's now working for WWE as an agent/producer and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021, and even made a (''very'' brief) return to the ring in the 2022 ''Wrestling/RoyalRumble''.
590* Magazine/{{Playboy}} playmate April Hunter stated nudity was the most reliable way to make money as a fitness model. Similar to the Nitro Girls, as an Wrestling/{{n|ewWorldorder}}Wo Girl she agreed to go to the Power Plant when asked by Kevin Nash but admits to not wanting to, correctly assuming pro wrestling would be painful. The Power Plant ended up not training her anyway so she went to Killer Kowalski's school and stuck around even though it did hurt and she hated it because WCW went under while she was there and she figured a former model with big boobs wouldn't get any respect in the business without formal training. Ironically she found many promoters in the USA didn't care and were just happy to have an nWo girl. She did eventually develop some fondness for pro wrestling, but unfortunately, the nude modeling caused WWE to pass on her, and then an injury hamstrung her career.
591* Wrestling/GailKim hasn't been shy about mentioning how much she prefers TNA to WWE. TNA made her a star; she all but created their Knockouts division, was their first Knockouts champion, and actually headlined a main event of ''Impact.'' However, after a pretty nasty contract dispute, she decided to go back to WWE where she was basically turned into scenery. When she realized they would give her three times the money for about a third of the work, she thought she could deal with it. In the end, she couldn't. She quit WWE in 2011 with less than two months to go on her contract and went back to TNA. This was also after she married a celebrity chef, so money was no longer an issue.
592* Wrestling/{{Sting}} had no interest in wrestling as a youth and didn't even know what it was because, according to him during his appearance on [[Wrestling/JimRoss ''The Ross Report'']], he lived in an area where wrestling wasn't shown on TV. He heard the name Wrestling/HulkHogan but didn't know who he was until he started working out in his gym. When Borden was approached to become a wrestler, he admits that only did it for the money and fame. Needless to say, he eventually developed a genuine love for wrestling. With that in mind, Sting's talents don't come cheaply (he was reportedly the highest-paid wrestler in WCW for many years, to the point where Wrestling/ScottHall referred to his initial offering as "Sting money") and the reason he left TNA in 2014 and finally joined WWE at least ten years too late was that TNA was in a financial mess and could no longer afford to pay him, along with many other of its top talent.
593** Wrestling/AJStyles, who many regard as Sting's SpiritualSuccessor (aided by the fact that Sting more-or-less passed the torch to him at ''Bound for Glory 2009''), has a similar story. He initially got into the business because of the money, and when he learned that you ''don't'' make money in wrestling, at least not at first, it was already too late -- he had already fallen in love with it. All this being said, this trope has come into play in his career: the first time was during the aftermath of the RF video scandal for Wrestling/RingOfHonor, in which AJ chose to stick with Wrestling/{{TNA}} because they paid better[[note]]Around this time he also turned down a developmental deal from WWE, for the same reason. Wrestling/JimCornette, co-owner and booker of WWE's developmental promotion (at the time) Ohio Valley Wrestling, has said that Styles was smart to turn down the offer, saying that AJ needed no more training (to wit, when Styles did finally make it to WWE he was one for the few people judged to be TV-ready when he was signed and completely bypassed NXT) and was better off being a featured guy in TNA than getting lost in the WWE system[[/note]]. This being said, he loved both companies equally, and perhaps stuck around in TNA far longer than he should have due to that. However, during TNA's AudienceAlienatingEra, the constant creative hamstringing the company put him (and many of his close friends/coworkers) through finally got to him. So when TNA's dire financial straits caught up to them and they offered him a contract with a ''forty percent pay cut'', AJ finally said enough and left. Two years later, after AJ made a lot of money with Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and the indie circuit, TNA broke the bank trying to offer him a deal that everyone knew they couldn't back. Unfortunately for them, AJ chose WWE's offer over theirs.
594* The same can be said for Sting's former tag team partner the Wrestling/UltimateWarrior, who has also admitted that he never watched wrestling and only got involved for the money. He infamously had many monetary disputes with Vince [=McMahon=] that resulted in him leaving on bad terms multiple times.
595* A lot of top talent who were pushed relatively early in their career have displayed this attitude. Wrestling/BrockLesnar is an especially notable case -- he was hotshotted to the main event within his first year in the WWE and is a massive draw, but he has never made it a secret that the only reason he ever got involved with the business was for the cash. In fact, his post-UFC return to the WWE was motivated solely by Wrestling/VinceMcMahon's offer to let him work part-time for full-time pay. His future wife Wrestling/{{Sable}} later admitted that she never cared about wrestling and only used the business to get money and become famous. Ditto for Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} -- who in fact wrestled his last match in his first run with the WWE with Lesnar, when both were leaving (Lesnar for football, Goldberg because he was unhappy with the company's use of him).
596* It's a common practice for WWE talent scouts to invoke this trope when hiring people from non-wrestling backgrounds. They get offered significantly higher salaries than those who come in from the indies -- presumably, so the extra money will make them willing to give wrestling a go.
597* [[Creator/TinyLister Tommy 'Tiny' Lister]] has admitted that he had no intentions of becoming a wrestler and only started wrestling as Zeus because Wrestling/VinceMcMahon offered him a lot of money for it. While he is certainly not ashamed for it, his wrestling career is a bit of an OldShame for many wrestling fans.
598* This, sadly, leads to many wrestlers staying on well past their prime and performing well into their twilight years, sometimes in small indy shows. Too many wrestlers didn't manage their money responsibly or were wiped out by one or many divorces. Chances are, if you see an ad for an Indy show and it's being headlined by a wrestler who used to be a big name 20+ years ago, this is why.
599** This is pretty much why Wrestling/HulkHogan signed on to TNA. He'd been wiped out by his divorce and needed the cash. This despite a reputation for demanding and getting exorbitant paydays during his career.
600** Wrestling/RicFlair's stint in TNA was solely for the money. Poor money management and a string of divorces left him near broke, despite a 40-year in-ring career.
601** Wrestling/DustyRhodes spent the last decade of his life working as a producer/agent for WWE, particularly in their developmental territory in Florida. There are many stories about him lamenting some of the bureaucracy he had to endure by saying, "Vince is lucky that I didn't save my money."
602** This is also the reason the late Joanie "{{Wrestling/Chyna}}" Laurer became a pornographic performer[[note]]That and a pretty bad drug habit, same for Sytch below[[/note]].
603** Wrestling/TammyLynnSytch also turned to pornography later in her career, first through pay websites and later signing a full-on deal with Vivid.
604** Tylene Buck (aka Major Gunns) also turned to pornography after her career as a manager went nowhere after WCW released all their female talent.
605* [[Wrestling/EdFarhat The Sheik]] kept wrestling [[RingOldies when he was well past his prime]], since he had lost money on some investments.
606* After losing the [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWWF]] World Title to Ivan Koloff in 1971, Wrestling/BrunoSammartino had fully intended on retiring from the wrestling business due to numerous injuries. He spent two years out of the spotlight, working occasionally for promoters he liked. Vince [=McMahon=] Sr. offered him an unprecedented contract to come back that arguably made him the highest-paid man in the industry at that point, as well as a part-time road schedule.
607* Wrestling/ShinsukeNakamura's WWE run has been derided for how poorly he was used after being called up to the main roster in 2017 and many fans expected him to leave the promotion when his contract came up in 2021; possibly to return to Japan or join the then-fledgling AEW. Instead he signed an extension, despite never being pushed to a consistent main-event level like he was in his native Japan. Nakamura has said that he used to wrestler for "art", now he's wresting for "money". So whatever WWE is paying him to be a midcard gatekeeper must be better than the offers he was getting from Japan or any other promotion.
608[[/folder]]
609
610[[folder:Sports]]
611* Unlike many fighters in MMA, UFC light heavyweight Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson always makes it clear that he's purely in it for the money, much to the confusion/amusement of most interviewers.
612* British boxer Nigel Benn, AKA "The Dark Destroyer", would talk openly about how he was only really in it for the money, and about how there was rarely anything personal against his opponent, how he was seriously worried about the possibility of brain damage, and how he was going to quit boxing as soon as he felt able. The UK boxing press thought this was all a jolly bad show, and gave Benn a rather negative reputation at the time.
613* [[UsefulNotes/AssociationFootball Footballer]] Winston Bogarde became notorious in England for staying at Chelsea despite going over three years without playing for them. Why didn't he move elsewhere? Because Chelsea were paying him ''£40,000 a week'', which was a huge amount back then, especially for a defender. Bogarde knew no-one else would pay him those sorts of wages, and wanted to spite Chelsea for not playing him, so he stuck around for the remainder of his contract.
614* There's a lot of European football/soccer teams which often try and invoke this trope to get reputable players, the idea being those good players will give the club instant success. This also explains why such non-traditional soccer markets such as Russia, Ukraine, and all of the rich countries of the Arabian Peninsula (even tiny Bahrain and Qatar!) can attract big names -- for players who sign with clubs in the Arab regions, isolation and/or scorching hot weather are not a problem when [[ArabOilSheikh oil money]] goes straight into your pocket. China, the fastest-growing economy, also hires a lot of good if aging stars who sign on for similar reasons.
615* The American soccer league MLS often brings in players from European leagues who are well past their prime for more than they would make as an aging star in the European Leagues with their diminished skill. Usually these players can lend some star power to the league, and these players are typically still much more skilled than the players in MLS since soccer is a fringe sport in America at best and doesn't draw elite players. (Elite players in their prime can make much more money in Europe, and any American who is skilled enough to play at an elite level is over in Europe anyway.) It's a nice little trade off. The aging star is well known enough to draw some eyes to the product, and usually is fairly dominant playing against the lower competition level in MLS.
616* This is a common trope with UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague team ownership:
617** Dysfunctional ownership aside, this is one of the reasons why the league allowed the Atlanta Thrashers to relocate to Winnipeg; the league would not have collected a $60 million relocation fee if they found a new owner committed to keeping the team in Atlanta.
618** After the team then known as the Phoenix Coyotes (now the Arizona Coyotes) filed for bankruptcy in 2009, the city of Glendale, Arizona, which owns and operates Gila River Arena (then known as Jobing.com Arena), paid the NHL $75 million over three seasons (from the 2010-11 season to the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season) for the Coyotes to remain in Arizona while the league searched for a new owner, preferably one committed to keeping the team in Arizona. [[note]]The payment for the 2011-12 season was also another factor behind the Atlanta Thrashers' relocation. True North Sports and Entertainment originally intended to buy and move the Coyotes to Winnipeg (as the Coyotes were the ''original'' Winnipeg Jets) if the league failed to find a buyer to keep the team in Glendale; however, the Glendale city council elected to cover the Coyotes' losses for another season.[[/note]] Eventually, it worked, as a new buyer was found in 2013.
619** In 2016, an expansion team was granted to UsefulNotes/LasVegas (who would be dubbed the Vegas Golden Knights), an area untapped by major leagues[[note]]To further emphasize the "money over values" aspect of this trope, part of the reason why Las Vegas had been untapped by all the "Big Four" leagues (NHL, [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]], [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball MLB]], and [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA]]) for nearly ''a century'' was because all of these leagues felt that Las Vegas' gambling culture would undermine the integrity of the game. Following the success of the Golden Knights, the NFL and MLB would later allow the UsefulNotes/{{Oakland}} Raiders and Athletics, respectively, to relocate to Vegas, largely due to this trope (as both teams wanted a new stadium that would be better for their business)[[/note]] instead of Quebec City due to the huge fee that would be shared with the 30 other teams. While Quebec City is a traditional hockey market, the crowded area and Canadian dollar uncertainties that already drove the previous team away in 1995 made granting a franchise for a expansion team there somehow riskier; also, a Quebec expansion team would likely require an existing team in the Eastern Conference to move west, which is why UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} got the 32nd slot, which required simply moving one team in the Pacific Division to the Central.
620* In UsefulNotes/{{Tennis}}, the top players typically skip the smaller, non-mandatory tournaments to save time and energy because they don't need the extra ranking points. Because of this, if you ''do'' see a top 5 player at some obscure ATP 250 or WTA International event, chances are that a sizeable appearance fee was included somewhere. One specific player example of this would be former top-5 stalwart Nikolay Davydenko, who was quite upfront in admitting that he played in a lot more tournaments than he needed to solely for the additional money.
621* This was why UsefulNotes/FormulaOne driver UsefulNotes/NikiLauda came out of retirement and joined [=McLaren=]: he had started an airline and needed money for it. It worked out for him in the end, as he got his third title (in the narrowest margin of victory ever, no less!)
622** Lauda actually started his career as an example of the trope in the opposite direction. Due to the sheer expense of competing in F1, teams will often hire pay drivers - drivers hired not for their ability, but the amount of sponsorship money they bring with them - and Lauda began his career as one such driver[[note]]though instead of bringing sponsors with him, he took out bank loans and quite literally ''paid March and BRM to let him drive their cars''. He was gambling on being noticed by a bigger team, and it paid off when Ferrari hired him[[/note]]. While pay drivers have been around for as long as motorsport itself, perception of them has become increasingly negative over the years because - and this is putting it ''very'' mildly - most of them aren't as good as Lauda. Jean-Denis Délétraz, and more recently Nikita Mazepin, are considered to be prime examples of drivers who were hired for their money rather than their talent (or lack thereof).
623* Among other things, UsefulNotes/OttTanak reportedly switched sides with Hyundai in the UsefulNotes/WorldRallyChampionship as Tänak wanted a business partnership with UsefulNotes/MarkkoMartin through an R5 rally team, but Toyota team principal Tommi Makinen refused for whatever reason.
624* In the 2014 [[UsefulNotes/TheWorldCup World Cup]], three African teams showed they considered their pay as important as victories: Cameroon delayed their trip because they wanted to get paid before, and while in Brazil one of the players admitted he was OnlyInItForTheMoney; Ghana threatened to strike during the tournament, only shutting up once a jet filled with cash arrived; and Nigeria also complained with their managers about the prize money.
625* Any time you see a small, lesser-known team playing a powerhouse in UsefulNotes/CollegeFootball. Bigger programs pay smaller teams to be a punching bag for 60 minutes and sell tickets while the smaller team often gets more money for a single weekend than their program would for the entire season. Sometimes it backfires, though: ask any [[UsefulNotes/PowerFiveConferences Univsersity of Michigan]] fan about the 2007 [[UsefulNotes/GroupOfFiveConferences Appalachian State]] game [[note]]The Mountaineers upset the highly-ranked Wolverines 34-32[[/note]] or any University of North Texas fan about the Portland State game. [[note]]Portland State won [[CurbStompBattle 66-7]] with the Mean Green only scoring in the final minute. The loss was so humiliating that UNT immediately fired its head coach.[[/note]]
626* Starting in the late twenty-teens and early twenty-twenties, high profile college football players began skipping bowl games to prepare for entry into the NFL Draft. This was exacerbated by the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, where many players opted out of that season entirely. This draws ire from pundits (many of whom are former players who embrace the "old school" mentality) for letting the team down for a big NFL payday. With huge paydays lingering, there is little motivation other than pride for a top-ranked NFL prospect to play in meaningless bowl games that aren't part of the College Football Playoff.
627** One need only look at the case of former University of Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith. Smith was the top-rated player in the 2016 NFL draft and won the Butkus Award as the top linebacker in the nation. During the 2016 Fiesta Bowl game against Ohio State, Smith suffered a knee injury in the first quarter and left the game. It was confirmed that the knee was diagnosed with tears to the ACL and LCL. The injury saw him forgo millions of dollars and plummet from a likely top-ten pick to being drafted 34th overall by the Dallas Cowboys. While he had successful seasons to start his NFL career, in the 2021 season he was cut by the Cowboys mid-season. From there he bounced to Green Bay's practice squad for a few weeks, before finally signing with the New York Giants' practice squad and being activated for the end of the season. Scouting resources such as Pro Football Focus cite loss of speed and explosiveness as the reason for his decline, likely due to lingering effects from the injury.
628** Kyle Hamilton, a projected top-five NFL pick from the aforementioned Smith's alma mater Notre Dame, responded to College Gameday host Kirk Hernstreit's criticism of his decision to skip the 2022 Fiesta Bowl by saying that he wasn't going to jeopardize his opportunity, "...to make 'X' amount of dollars that would help [him] and [his] family in ways [he] couldn’t in the past..." It is likely that this trend of highly-rated players skipping what they perceive to be meaningless college games to prepare for the NFL is here to stay.
629* In women's basketball, American superstar Diana Taurasi sat out the 2015 WNBA season[[note]](held in the northern hemisphere summer, when other women's leagues around the world aren't playing)[[/note]] at the request of the Russian club she was playing for during the traditional basketball season. Her Russian club, which then had her under contract for about $1.5 million a season, paid her a bonus well in excess of the WNBA's maximum salary of $107,000 to sit out the summer.[[note]](In Taurasi's defense, she turned 33 during the 2015 WNBA season, and hadn't had an offseason since college. This wasn't the first time she had been offered such a bonus.)[[/note]]
630* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010-2014_NCAA_conference_realignment NCAA conference realignment in the early 2010s]] started out as this -- a couple of big conferences saw the chance to add members and make even more money than they were already swimming in, schools saw the same kind of dollar signs as well, and chaos ensued.
631** Notably, this trope is the reason for the demise of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_East_Conference_(1979%E2%80%932013) the original Big East Conference]]. As wildly successful a basketball conference as it was, the colleges that also fielded football teams saw far more revenue from that sport and decided to act in interest of football, leading to the departures of schools like Boston College, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse.
632** The same thing would happen to the PAC-12 in 2023, after the league was unable to secure a satisfactory TV deal '''ten''' of the twelve member colleges departed for greener pastures. Arizona, Arizona St., Colorado, and Utah left for the Big 12; UCLA, USC, Oregon, and Washington left for the Big 10; and Sanford and Cal[[note]]UC-Berkeley. And yes, that means that there's going to be two teams from the Bay Area playing in the ''Atlantic Coast'' Conference[[/note]] left for the ACC, leaving Washington St. and Oregon St. in the PAC-2.
633* George Foreman returned to boxing after a ten-year retirement to get funding for his ministry and so he could run a youth center. He also lent his name to the George Foreman Grill and became the face of the product at around this time for the same reason.
634* American soccer legend Landon Donovan chose to finish his career with Major Arena Soccer League side San Diego Sockers for this reason; [[https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/3758130/source-donovan-to-make-$250,000-by-joining-arena-league-side he was paid $250,000 to play for the indoor soccer team for a singular year]].
635* When basketball superstar Charles Barkley was traded to the Phoenix Suns, he was asked about the fact that Arizona voters had recently voted down a bill to make Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a state holiday. He said, "If they paid me enough, I'd work for the ''[Ku Klux]'' Klan."
636[[/folder]]
637
638[[folder:Theatre]]
639* [[Creator/GilbertAndSullivan William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan]] never got on particularly well, and both resented that they received far more recognition for their light comic operettas than their serious work (in Gilbert's case, his now mostly forgotten poetry and in Sullivan's the opera ''Ivanhoe''). However, their light operettas were ''hugely'' successful, with both of them making money hand over fist, and the two were often forced back into collaboration by looming impecunity. Gilbert, on being confronted with the failure (relative to his previous work ''Theatre/TheMikado'') of ''{{Theatre/Ruddigore}}'' pointed out that ''Ruddigore'' had made him over seven thousand pounds (equivalent of somewhere along the lines of half a million pounds in 2018) in its one-year run, and that he would gladly take a couple more similar "failures".
640* ''Theatre/AStrangeLoop'': InUniverse. Usher the aspiring playwright has an agent that is pushing him to ghost-write a Creator/TylerPerry "gospel play," but Usher hates Tyler Perry and all his works. Finally Usher caves and says he'll do it, "but only for the money."
641[[/folder]]
642
643[[folder:Video Games]]
644* Fork Parker, the CFO of Creator/DevolverDigital, (possibly jokingly) states that he only takes in semi-indie games so he can fund his jet ski and yacht. Most of his interviews ham it up about it. The other half of the interview is him mocking people who get antsy about video game violence.
645* Creator/{{Activision}} president Bobby Kotick has always made clear he's more interested in profits than making games (not that it hasn't worked, as the company went from "struggling with the new times" to "biggest in the business"), to the point that a few games were passed over due to not being CashCowFranchise candidates and a few series and studios were killed for failing to meet time and gross expectations.
646* Creator/{{Gameloft}} (an offshoot of Creator/{{Ubisoft}}) makes video game-equivalents of TheMockbuster for mobile platforms like iPhone. When confronted about this in an interview, the CEO of the company said it's just the business of the industry and that people should expect "one new idea" per year.
647** Sales representative Tony Key later announced that Ubisoft will only make games that can have sequels or money-printing franchise.
648* Creator/IanMcKellen stated this was the reason he kept himself involved with the ''Lord of the Rings'' video games (before the cast became contractually obliged to participate); despite the silliness of the job ("You have to say [things] like 'over here, Hobbits! Over here, Legolas!'"), he mentioned that he made more money off the games than the films themselves.
649* Creator/{{Valve}} has accused of becoming this since between the late 2000s or early 2010s with making ''VideoGame/CounterStrike'' and ''VideoGame/Dota2'' as {{Cash Cow Franchise}}s, neglecting to finish the ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' series, and refusing to do anything to moderate the tidal wave of UsefulNotes/{{Shovelware}} on Steam.
650* Creator/YokoTaro often ''claims'' that he'll do anything for money, but considering his eccentricity, his willingness to listen to his superiors paling in comparison to his willingness to do everything they haven't told him ''not'' to do, and colleagues stating that "there's no one that doesn't move for money as much as him," it's quite obvious that he's actually DoingItForTheArt, and the money-grubbing persona he's built up around himself is just a joke.
651* Jeremy Heath-Smith, the chief executive of Core Design, was very open about what motivates him to keep assembling new teams for yet another ''Franchise/TombRaider'' game. On the other hand, he was always making sure [[AFatherToHisMen all the team members get fat and even slices of the money made by the studio]] for the harrowing work to push yet another game in 8 months. He is still fondly remembered by all the members of the staff.
652-->For me, it was really important that they did something with that money - bought a house, or invested it (...) I was always the advocate of "Let’s make as much hay as we can while the sun shines. And while that’s not, from a creative perspective, the best approach, it certainly is one approach when the sun is out."
653* An InUniverse comes in ''VideoGame/{{Paradigm}}''. The titular character is at one point handed an illustrated children's book, ''Your Mommy is an Evil Company Called Dupa Genetics'', meant to give him plot exposition. Kuba Janerkowski, the artist behind the illustrations, as a short bio at the end of the book, where he straight up admits that his participation in the book was strictly for commercial reasons:
654-->''I'd much rather do my own stuff, but shit man, I gotta pay dem bills. This mac and cheese addiction doesn't come cheap. Especially when it comes to my bowels.''
655* Creator/PlatinumGames outright admitted that the purpose of their partnership with Activision to produce licensed games was solely for the money.
656* The reason Creator/{{Natsume}} made [[VideoGame/HarvestMoonNatsume their own series]] of ''Harvest Moon'' games after Marvelous parted ways with them in favor of bringing the games over themselves via Creator/XSEEDGames; ''Harvest Moon'' made up most of Natsume's revenue outside of Japan, and Natsume kept the rights to the old name. Thus, Marvelous was forced to rename the original series ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasons'', while Natsume's ''Harvest Moon'' games after the split are essentially a new series of games using the old name.
657[[/folder]]
658
659[[folder:Webcomics]]
660* In ''Webcomic/LilFormers'', this is Devastator Jr's sheepish excuse to Devastator Sr (G1) to why he went on show in Bayformers.
661-->'''Devastator Sr:''' ''Junior!'' What were you thinking?! My own son, parading around with no crotchplate on!\
662'''Devastator Jr:''' C'mon Dad! It was important for the role... and don't you know how much money that movie made?\
663'''Devastator Sr:''' You know who else makes a lot of money? ''HOOKERS!'' But they ''don't'' brag about what they did to get it!
664* Ian [=MacDonald=] stated that this was his ultimate goal behind doing ''Webcomic/BrunoTheBandit'', and that his utter failure to monetize the comic after eleven years was the main reason he gave up.
665* This was the reason Christine Weston Chandler created ''Webcomic/{{Sonichu}}'', holding the belief that this character would become a ''big'' hit. The {{Troll}}s were quick to tell her that's not how things work.
666* Brad Guigar has stated that the reason the original ''Webcomic/EvilInc'' ended in favor of the more erotic spin-off was that [[SexSells they're more profitable]].
667[[/folder]]
668
669[[folder:Web Videos]]
670* Music/MiracleOfSound sometimes has to make songs based on upcoming games in order to keep himself afloat.
671* Because Website/YouTube offers creators such instantaneous feedback in terms of what audiences do and don't want to watch, it's usually pretty easy to notice when a creator starts indulging this trope. More than a few Website/{{YouTube}}rs have abruptly turned their channels into gaming channels — usually centred around trendy games like ''Minecraft'' or ''Fortnite'' — simply because they've found it too hard to effectively monetize other forms of content.
672** [[https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/08/09/youtubes-arbitrary-standards-stars-keep-making-money-even-after-breaking-rules/?noredirect=on YouTube been intentionally lenient with big-name content creators violating community guidelines, as they bring the site the most money]], while being extremely harsh towards smaller channels for much less serious reasons. For example; Creator/LoganPaul uploads a video of himself at a Japanese forest known for suicide. The video sparked outrage among the site's users and media outlets cover it. [=YouTube=] decides to remove his channels from Google Preferred (a premium advertising program), issue a strike and condemn his actions ''over a week after the video was posted'', and Logan voluntarily deleted the video.[[note]] Bear in mind that [[KarmaHoudini he was not demonitized for the suicide forest video]].[[/note]] [[HereWeGoAgain A few weeks later]], Logan posts a video of himself shooting some dead rodents with a taser. [=YouTube=] opts to suspend advertising on his videos for two weeks [[DoubleStandard when anyone else would've had their channel terminated had they done the exact same thing]].
673** This trope can be a ''viable strategy'' for smaller channels lucky enough to be monetised in the first places; many channels that manage to capture the algorithm and audience's favour tend to ride it as hard as possible for a few months to around a year at most, raking in as much cash as they can, then either [[KnowWhenToFoldEm cut their losses]] when it gets less profitable, or try an attempt to WinBackTheCrowd, to mixed success.
674* LetsPlay/{{Strippin}} did a video in order to help promote ''Film/{{Divergent}}'' because he would get enough money to pay two months' worth of rent. He would later go on to apologize for the video on Website/{{Reddit}} and pull it, saying it was shit and that he only uploaded it to make sure he'd get paid.
675* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'' loves to accuse big-name actors of this when they appear in the schlock he has to review. [[PlayedForLaughs All for fun]], of course. This includes Abe Vigoda when he appeared in ''Film/GoodBurger'', Creator/ChristopherPlummer in ''WesternAnimation/RockADoodle'', and Creator/ChristopherLee in ''Film/HowlingIIStirbaWerewolfBitch''.
676--> '''[[Film/InglouriousBasterds Hans Landa:]]''' By the way, [[AccidentallyCorrectWriting that last part's actually true]].
677* ''WebVideo/GameGrumps:''
678** Arin has gone on record, numerous times, that he will never "stop" doing Game Grumps and that he fully intends to die, on camera, doing Grumps. His justification, when they and Creator/BenSchwartz are playing ''VideoGame/SuperCastlevaniaIV''?
679---> '''Arin:''' I want to die as I lived: fully monetized!
680** When the are playing ''The Wacky World Of Miniature Golf'', Arin begins venting his frustrations with the game's FakeDifficulty at Creator/EugeneLevy, who voiced the narrator. Dan is quick to defend him with this:
681---> '''Eugene Levy:''' Awww, too bad. Let's see if the next player can do any better, 'cause I'll tell ya: [[TakeThatAudience he can't do any worse!]] Oh ho ho ho ho!
682---> '''Arin:''' [[TranquilFury I wish you were dead.]]
683---> '''Dan:''' No! ''No!'' Don't take this out on Eugene! He's just collecting a paycheque!
684[[/folder]]
685
686[[folder:Western Animation]]
687%%
688%% ACTORS: List Film and TV Actors under "Individuals - Actors",
689%% unless you're talking about a project that involved multiple individuals.
690%% If it's an entry about an actor taking a particular role, or an actor's tendency over several roles,
691%% put it under "Individuals - Actors".
692%%
693* A now-deleted post on CH Greenblatt's Tumblr claimed that Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} isn't too fond of ''WesternAnimation/ALVINNNAndTheChipmunks'', only airing it for the money.
694* 1960s crooner Music/JohnnyMathis confessed he did the famous theme song to Trans Lux's ''The Mighty Hercules'' cartoon series purely for the cash plus residuals.
695* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
696** Creator/HarryShearer is of two minds about the money he makes from the show, saying that he and the cast get paid too much and too little at the same time (too much, since they really do get paid an obscene amount, and too little because the amount is still a minuscule fraction of what their work makes for Creator/{{Fox}}). He's been highly critical of the show's quality, he has never done a DVDCommentary, and the actors (himself included) are some of the highest-paid in animation.
697** This may be true for most of the cast, given their infamous salary disputes with Fox over the decades that led to them being the highest-paid voice actors on TV. Creator/MattGroening, despite his producer credit, always sided with the actors during these fights... until Fox threatened to cancel the show outright unless the actors took a pay cut.
698** This is part of the reason Matt Groening made ''The Simpsons'' at all. Fox originally approached him about doing a cartoon version of his indie comic ''ComicStrip/LifeInHell'', but then at the last minute, he learned that Fox was planning to make him sign away ''all'' of his rights to the series (this included giving Fox executives creative control over the original comic itself). Unwilling to give up ''Life In Hell'', but still wanting that sweet Hollywood money, Matt hastily sketched a family-based heavily upon his own (including the names). The rest is history.
699** Also an in-universe example in "The Book Job", in which Homer, Bart, and some others write a book purely to make money, while Lisa, trying to write a book for the love of writing, gets into a serious case of writer's block. Meanwhile, the financially-driven book winds up being so good that Homer and the others end up caring more about the final work than the money they stand to gain from it.
700** Also happens in-universe in "Homer To The Max", where a show in the mid-season lineup is ''Series/AllInTheFamily [[RidiculousFutureSequelisation 1999]]'', which has Carroll O'Connor reluctantly reprising the role of Archie Bunker:
701--->'''Carroll O'Connor:''' (''as Archie Bunker'') Aww, jeez, they got me livin' with an African-American, a Semite-American, and a woman American there, and I'm glad, I loves youse all! I love everybody! (''breaking character'') I wish I'd saved my money from the first show.
702* This trope is why Music/DannyElfman wound up doing the official theme to ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' instead of series composer Shirley Walker. Originally, the theme was supposed to be the heroic refrain heard in each episode (usually when Batman is swooping into action) and the opening of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm'', but after Elfman saw the influx of royalty money he was getting from his ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' theme, he took up the offer to do a rearrangement of his ''Film/Batman1989'' theme for the animated show (which also used his film theme in a couple of early episodes), as well as scoring themes for several other television shows later.
703* Donald F. Glut, one of the writers for ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'', has admitted to disliking the series, and said that he did it strictly for the money:
704--> None of the writing on this series, in my opinion, was good or passionate or, sometimes (my own included, like “[[Recap/TransformersG1TheAutobotRun The Autobot Run]]”) even adequate. But we got paid well for writing them fast.
705* An in-universe example in the ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' episode "Pre-Teen Scream" was when pop "singer" Ronnie Matthews admits to Phoebe Heyerdahl that he was only a [[BrainlessBeauty handsome]] manufactured IdolSinger who merely entered the music industry for money and glamour rather than genuine talent.
706[[/folder]]
707
708[[folder:Other]]
709* A meme of one of the villains from ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryTheMovie'' saying "We've got to have money!" is used all over the internet to represent this trope, usually in a mocking manner.
710* Parodied in ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' magazine's satire of ''Film/RockyIII''. In the second-to-last panel, we see [[ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes a few pairs of eyes]] in the darkness of the fight's audience, with SpeechBubbles: "Yep, he set himself up for another sequel." "Why does he do it?" "The same reason we ALL do it!" In the final panel, the speakers are revealed to be movie characters, among them, Brody from ''Film/{{Jaws}}'', Film/JamesBond and [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader]]. They cry in unison, '''"MONEY!!!!"'''
711* In general, this trope is the relationship between {{Superhero}} comics and their adaptations: While the comics are the official canon, the "real" money is in the movies and the merchandise.
712** The same applies to manga and anime. Some artists really push for their manga to be adapted to anime, as that's where the money really is.
713* Individuals who enter competitions online also count for this trope. Their motives for ''why'' they need the money obviously vary, but for some, it's seen as a quick way to try, and [[NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction the challenge as well]]. It may not even matter if the other prizes are [[UndesirablePrize less desirable]], the money is the main thing for these people, known [[InsistentTerminology as "compers"]].
714* While some of the women on ''Magazine/{{Playboy}}'' want a push on their careers, most probably want the paycheck - helps that sometimes the cover model will get a bonus based on how many copies her issue sells.
715* This is the reason why many actors, writers, directors, producers, etc. appear at conventions, even if their appearances are tied to past projects they'd rather forget. They receive sizeable appearance fees plus extra for each autograph they sign and photo they take.
716* [[https://www.cameo.com/ Cameo]] provides a way for everday people to get celebrities to send messages to others or endorse their products. It also provides a way for the world to see who is willing churn out bite-sized content for cheap.
717* After the media circus surrounding the domestic dispute between him and his wife which culminated in her [[GroinAttack slicing his genitals off]], John Wayne Bobbit began partaking in numerous side ventures to pay off his legal and medical fees, often involving a large amount of AdamWesting. He formed a band called The Private Parts, acted in two porn films, and even made an appearance on ''[[Wrestling/WWERaw WWF Raw is War]]'' as part of a feud between Wrestling/ValVenis and [[Wrestling/TakaMichinoku Kaientai]] (wherein he helped save Venis from having his own privates severed by Mr. Yamaguchi).
718[[/folder]]

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