History Main / HatesTheJobLovesTheLimelight

%%* Baby Herman from ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit''.

-->"Aw, hell, it's show business, right? Where do I sign?"

* ''ComicBook/DCOneMillion'' gives us a superhero version: The future Starman hates being a hero, but loves the attention.

%%* Billy Mack, the old rock star in ''Film/LoveActually''.

%%* Baby Herman from ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit''.

* In the film ''Film/TheAristocrats'', many of the interviewed comedians argue that this is the essence of TheAristocrats joke since it's about a family that will sink to any depravity to be part of the glamour of showbiz. Sarah Silverman's version of the joke, in particular, runs thick with this trope.
* Margo from ''Film/{{Flashdance}}'' confides to protagonist Alex that she used to be so proud to be a pole dancer at Mawby's, and would routinely buy glamorous outfits for that purpose. As time went on, however, Margo stopped buying fancy outfits and continues at Mawby's as a workaday job. This adds one more reason for Alex to audition at the Pittsburgh Repertoire Conservatory, rather than "pissing it all away."
* ''Film/{{Airheads}}'': Ian "The Shark", the DJ of KPPX "Rebel Radio" doesn't like '90s rock, telling Chazz "[[NostalgiaFilter I stick to the classics]]. Rock'n'roll's been all downhill since [[Music/JohnLennon Lennon]] died." However, seeing how passionate '90s rock musicians like Chazz and his friends are, he changes his mind.

* There's a very old joke about a man who walks into a bar smelling of filth. He complains to the bartender that he hates his job, cleaning up after the elephants in the circus. He shovels elephant droppings all day long and can't get the smell off of himself no matter how he tries. The bartender asks why he doesn't just quit his job. The man looks back, unbelieving, "[[SmallNameBigEgo And quit show business]]?!"

* Played with in Creator/TomClancy's ''Literature/ExecutiveOrders'' Jack Ryan is giving his first public speech as President, and despite his disdain for the formalities cannot help but feel the allure when the audience wildly praises him. He compares it to a narcotic.
* Zig-zagged with Literature/CiaphasCain. He seems to enjoy his job as a Commissar and he is actually pretty good at it. Furthermore, he would be happy to live a quiet life out of harm's way. Unfortunately for him, his status as a celebrity means he is repeatedly thrown into situations he would rather stay out of and he is [[SlaveToPR too unwilling to forego the luxuries that being in the limelight offers him]].

* ''Series/{{Angel}}'': Inverted with Lorne. As head of the W&H Entertainment Division, he is bogged down with so much work that he has to ''surgically remove his sleep'' — and even then he still can't catch up. It becomes clear that it's Lorne's way of assuming his old Caritas role and bringing people together, even at great self-sacrifice.
* Johnny Fever in ''Series/WKRPInCincinnati'' starts out like this, but he's not as grouchy after Andy, the new program director, lets him play the music he wants to play (and say "booger".)

* This is Andy's entire character arc on ''Series/{{Extras}}'' (and applies to some of the guest stars/minor characters as well).

* ''{{Series/MASH}}'': Major Charles Emerson Winchester, who was sent to the 4077th by a Colonel whom he always bested at cribbage. While nobody liked being in the southeast Asian theater, Charles detested it but was an admitted showoff at the operating table. Hawkeye dresses him down once, telling Charles that "without an audience, a patient means nothing to you."
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': Creator/CharlesDickens had shades of this in "The Unquiet Dead," since he had come to hate his tour of reading ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'' to packed houses. It takes the Doctor, who gushes about another work, ''The Signalman,'' and a visit from [[MonsterOfTheWeek the Gelth]] to rouse him out of this. By the end of the episode, he's got a new lease on life.

* ''{{Theatre/Patience}}'': Bunthorne is an aesthetic poet who secretly dislikes poetry and aestheticism (when alone he sings a song mocking the latter's ridiculousness) but maintains his persona because he likes the admiration it gets him from women.

* In ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'', the Ultimate Baseball Star Leon Kuwata exemplifies beat-for-beat version of this trope, translated into playing sports rather than creating or performing art. Leon does enjoy playing baseball at heart, and he loves the attention, female fans, and the free-ride scholarship that baseball has given him. He just hates and resents having to do it constantly, until all the joy is gone and only the drudgery of endless pointless practice and games is left. [[BrilliantButLazy The fact that he's a lazy bum at heart and so stupidly talented that he doesn't find much challenge in the game or see why anyone would need to practice at it doesn't help]].
* One potential fate of VideoGame/TexMurphy in the Pandora Directive involves Tex [[spoiler: leaving the P.I. business and becoming a clown.]] Needless to say, his reasons for doing so render him ''quite'' jaded.

* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] with Fizzarolli in ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss''. As revealed in the season 2 episode "MAMMON'S MAGNIFICENT MUSICAL MID-SEASON SPECIAL (ft Fizzarolli)", he loves his job as a [[NonIronicClown clown]], he loves performing, and he even loves the occasional sincere fan -- [[FriendToAllChildren especially children]]. But he ''hates'' the limelight. He ''hates'' that his BadBoss, [[{{Greed}} Mammon]], has commercialized him. And he ''hates'' the {{Groupie}}s, the {{Loony Fan}}s, and the {{Paparazzi}}s.

--> "Your eyes were as brown as a bottle of beer...." You can't sell this!
--> I already did.
--> [[FlatWhat What.]]
--> Or rather, my lawyer is attempting to mediate in the bidding war. I'm thinking of buying a house.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''
** Krusty the Klown, whose stage name is a hint at this. How much it actually applies to him varies DependingOnTheWriter. Sometimes he's depicted as a hack who's just in it for the money, at other times he laments the crappy material he has to work with. In one episode, he claimed that he'd need a "shoebox full of blow" to go through with producing a particular sketch. "The Last Temptation Of Krust" plays with both aspects: after noticing his humor is out of step with modern comedy, he quits his job and reinvents himself as an anti-establishment stand-up comedian with great success. Then he accepts a huge endorsement from [[HummerDinger Canyonero SUVs]] which causes his new career to tank and him to go back to his old job, which he doesn't mind since he realized his ''true'' talent was never comedy but selling out.
** This trope is also the ultimate reason for Sideshow Bob's descent from TV sidekick to a homicidal maniac. Bob originally accepted Krusty's offer to be his sidekick because he thought he could both entertain and enlighten the children who would be watching, but [[ClassicallyTrainedExtra his talents were utterly wasted]] by the lowbrow shenanigans Krusty subjected him to, which in Bob's own words "destroyed more young minds than pinball and syphilis combined!" Finally, Bob snapped and framed Krusty for armed robbery, taking over the show after Krusty was arrested. He immediately turned it into the kind of show ''he'' originally wanted to do, one that was educational, entertaining, and uplifting all at once. And then Bart Simpson pegged him as the guy who framed Krusty and he went to jail. Suffice to say that it got worse from there.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' depicted WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse like this.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'': Miss Carol, host of a ShowWithinAShow in the episode "Word of the Day", secretly hates kids and is only in it for the money. HilarityEnsues when Angelica overhears her and assumes [[SoundEffectBleep the more vulgar version]] of her TV catchphrase was the real one.

* Mommy Fortuna in ''WesternAnimation/TheLastUnicorn''. She keeps a dangerous harpy in her circus that she knows will kill her one day, but she doesn't care because she only wants to be remembered, which tormenting an immortal harpy will accomplish. When the unicorn suggests that the harpy be set free, Mommy interjects, "I'd quit show business first!"
* Nom Nom the Koala from ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBears'' loves the money and fame that comes from being a viral video star, but hates dealing with his fans (especially the Bears, and ''especially'' Grizzly).

* Yumemi Yumemite from ''Manga/{{Kakegurui}}'' is a very popular up-and-coming IdolSinger who secretly hates being an idol and detests her legions of male fans, seeing them as disgusting and perverted. However, she's willing to put up with it since she's using her idol career as a stepping stone to fulfill her true goal of becoming a Hollywood actress. Even after losing her composure and exposing her true colors during a game against Yumeko, her fans continue supporting her.

* In ''Webcomic/ScarletLady'', Chloe as the titular "[[NominalHero heroine]]" hates fighting [[VillainOfTheWeek Akuma]] and ducks as much responsibility as possible whenever they show up, but she ''loves'' the adoration of Paris and keeps it with her WorldHealingWave and a talent for playing the news.

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Literature/SoulMusic'', when a band shows major promise and is recruited by Cut Me Own Throat Dibbler, he appoints a somewhat flattened (and smelly) troll named Asphault to carry their equipment. In homage to the joke, he cleaned up after elephants, but they often sat on him. When asked why he didn't leave, Asphault said: "Show business is in me soul."
** One of the characters commented: "Only sat?" when Asphault described the elephants.

* ''Film/ShakesTheClown''

** The same mostly holds true (except for the "being a huge bitch" part) for Wrestling/StacyKeibler, who has made it no secret she never cared for the business and considered it nothing more than "a stepping stone" to get to Hollywood to launch her acting career. Supposedly, she erased all traces of WWE and WCW from the bio on her website when she got there and, save for one-shot appearances on Tough Enough and inducting her friend, Wrestling/TorrieWilson, into the WWE Hall Of Fame, has had nothing to do with the wrestling business since.

* Billy Mack, the old rock star in ''Film/LoveActually''.
* Creator/BelaLugosi in ''Film/EdWood''.
* Baby Herman from ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit''.

->''"I resent being an artist, in that respect, I resent performing for fucking idiots who don't know anything. They can't feel. '''[[ItsAllAboutMe I’m]]''' the one that’s feeling, because '''I’m''' the one that is expressing."''

[[folder:Film]]

* In episode 10 of ''LightNovel/{{Oreimo}}'', Kanako Kurusu, one of Kirino's school friends, is tricked by Ayase, another of Kirino's friends, into a cosplay contest, where she wears a [[ShowWithinAShow Meruru costume that makes her look exactly like the character]]. Although offstage she gripes about it, while she's performing on the stage, she seems to give herself entirely to the act as she sings and wows the audience. Kanako does such an excellent job that Kirino, who was in the audience, doesn't recognize that it's her friend cosplaying as Meruru.

* Played with in Creator/TomClancy's ''LIterature/ExecutiveOrders'' Jack Ryan is giving his first public speech as President, and despite his disdain for the formalities cannot help but feel the allure when the audience wildly praises him. He compares it to a narcotic.

* Andre Agassi revealed in his autobiography that "I play tennis for a living even though I hate tennis, hate it with a dark and secret passion and always have." [https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/oct/29/andre-agassi-hate-tennis While discussing this quote]], ''The Guardian'' found a bigger case of the trope in Olympic cycling champion Chris Boardman, who once said he was not fond of cycling, only of winning.

* Fred Schneider of The B-52's has on more than one occasion implied that he only tours for the money. He refuses to do new recordings nor change up the setlists significantly by playing rarer material. In interviews discussing the band's history he comes across as bored and forgetful compared to Cindy and Kate. It's evident in the way his vocal style has changed too, for much of the band's existence he was intense and varied (hitting a particular apex on his solo album Just Fred), but in recent years has resorted to effectively speaking over the music. He still does guest appearances and work with his solo group The Superions, but it is not considered to hold a candle to earlier work nor the solo albums of his bandmates Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson. The B-52's still put on a good show and has a loyal fanbase, but are somewhat of a legacy act.

* While Music/JasonDonovan was uncomfortable with being a late '80s-early '90s heartthrob pop singer, he still looks back at it fondly and enjoys the publicity and nostalgia his singing career gave him. Nowadays, you can basically hear him say more positive things about his PWL era than his early [[Creator/PolydorRecords Polydor]] era

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' depicted MickeyMouse like this.

->''"I resent being an artist, in that respect, I resent performing for fucking idiots who don't know anything. They can't feel. '''I’m''' the one that’s feeling, because '''I’m''' the one that is expressing."''

* Italian singer Cristina d'Avena is said to feel this way, as she does exclusively cartoon theme songs, children shows, and nothing else. Publically at least, she claims to be happy with her career.

An specific case of a JadedProfessional. Compare NiceCharacterMeanActor, TheLastDJ, ClassicallyTrainedExtra, IWasYoungAndNeededTheMoney, JadedWashout, ThePrimaDonna, FameThroughInfamy (when you may not like doing something infamous in and of itself, but you like the "limelight" it gives), NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity, WhiteDwarfStarlet, FormerChildStar, {{Japandering}}, PeerPressuredBully.

* ''Film/GalaxyQuest'': Alan Rickman's character, Alexander Dane, was once a serious Shakespearean actor. Ever since having starred in the titular television show, his career has been reduced to appearing at sci-fi conventions and opening electronics stores.

* ''Film/{{Airheads}}'': Ian "The Shark", the DJ of KPPX "Rebel Radio" doesn't like 90s rock, telling Chazz "[[NostalgiaFilter I stick to the classics]]. Rock'n'roll's been all downhill since [[Music/JohnLennon Lennon]] died." However, seeing how passionate 90s rock musicians like Chazz and his friends are, he changes his mind.

** This trope is also the ultimate reason for Sideshow Bob's descent from TV sidekick to a homicidal maniac. Bob originally accepted Krusty's offer to be his sidekick because he thought he could both entertain and enlighten the children who would be watching, but [[ClassicallyTrainedExtra his talents were utterly wasted]] by the lowbrow shenanigans Krusty subjected him to, which in Bob's own words "destroyed more young minds than pinball and syphilis combined!" Finally, Bob snapped and framed Krusty for armed robbery, taking over the show after Krusty was arrested. He immediately turned it into the kind of show ''he'' originally wanted to do, one that was educational, entertaining and uplifting all at once. And then Bart Simpson pegged him as the guy who framed Krusty and he went to jail. Suffice to say that it got worse from there.

* Italian singer Cristina d'Avena is said to feel this way, as she does exclusively cartoon theme songs, children shows and nothing else. Publically at least, she claims to be happy with her career.
* Marjoe Gortner, an evangelist preacher in the 60's (who later became an actor in movies such as ''Film/{{Starcrash}}''), explained in his documentary that he didn't believe what he preached but loved the attention and money - going so far as to say if he'd had a different background he'd probably have been a rock star.

* Former Wrestling/{{WWE}} Diva Wrestling/{{Sable}}... sorry [[IAmNotSpock Rena Lesnar]] has outright admitted that she never gave a shit about wrestling and only used it to get famous. In hindsight, it's no surprise since she couldn't wrestle, refused to take bumps and was reportedly a [[NiceCharacterMeanActor huge bitch to her co-workers]].

* An extremely disturbing example occurred with UsefulNotes/OJSimpson, crossing over with WhiteDwarfStarlet, after his legal and civil trials from 1994-1997. After a successful pro football career in the early 1970s, Simpson went on to be the spokesperson for Hertz rental cars, and from there he had a decently successful acting career through the 1980s - one of the first big examples of a pro-sports figure successfully adapting his fame into commercial success as a spokesperson/actor. He lived in upscale Brentwood, California, and regularly played golf with all of the upscale citizens of the community, including famous actors, judges, etc. Overall, he was held up as a major example of a respected and successful former pro-footballer who had settled into a comfortable life of fame. However, the nation-wide scandal of his double-murder trial (in 1994) and then civil trial (in 1997), utterly ruined his public persona. He lost all of his money in the civil suit, including his Brentwood home of 20 years, and had pariah status in the national eye. People who knew Simpson, however, said that he'd spent his whole life since high school being treated as special, because of his athletic talents - a major example of celebrity culture in America, he was never treated as if the rules applied to him. ''Whether or not'' you think Simpson was actually guilty, he was so utterly addicted to his celebrity status that after the trials, he couldn't really mentally process that he wasn't part of the limelight anymore. In the early 2000s, Simpson totally deteriorated, with no limits to how far he would debase himself just to be in the limelight again. This culminated in 2006 when he released a ''prank-based reality TV show'', "Juiced", consisting of him making practical jokes on unwitting bystanders with hidden cameras. It was a ripoff of shows like 2003's "Punk'd"...starring ''O.J. Simpson'' (if you want to look up clips of "Juiced", brace yourself to see just how far someone can abandon his ''last shreds of human dignity'' out of an addiction to fame). Even his close remaining friends desperately tried to convince him that he was only humiliating himself, as well as his children. Problem is...Simpson had fallen so low that he genuinely didn't seem to care - it didn't matter what he was doing, so long as the cameras were pointed at him and people were talking about him.

* While Music/JasonDonovan was uncomfortable with being a late 80's-early 90's heartthrob pop singer, he still looks back at it fondly and enjoys the publicity and nostalaga his singing career gave him. Nowadays, you can basically hear him say more positive things about his PWL era than his early [[Creator/PolydorRecords Polydor]] era

Compare NiceCharacterMeanActor, TheLastDJ, ClassicallyTrainedExtra, IWasYoungAndNeededTheMoney, JadedWashout, ThePrimaDonna, FameThroughInfamy (when you may not like doing something infamous in and of itself, but you like the "limelight" it gives), NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity, WhiteDwarfStarlet, FormerChildStar, {{Japandering}}, PeerPressuredBully.

He's been in the business for years and has become absolutely jaded (especially if he started out as a WideEyedIdealist). And he's not going to let anyone forget it. The things that come out of his mouth would never make it on the air in RealLife... unless that is, he was [[IsThisThingStillOn unaware that the microphone was still on]].

** Reverend Lovejoy used to be enthusiastic about his job until an overly-clingy and needy Flanders got done inadvertently beating the love of his fellow man out of him.
*** It's not the first time this happens either. When the Movementarian cult steals his entire flock, Marge finds him spilling gasoline on the floor of his church to burn it down, lamenting [[NoodleIncident "I can't believe it's come down to this again."]]

* Yumemi Yumemite from ''Manga/{{Kakegurui}}'' is a very popular up-and-coming IdolSinger who secretly hates being an idol and detests her legions of male fans, seeing them as disgusting and perverted. However, she's willing to put up with it since she's using her idol career as a stepping stone to fulfill her true goal of becoming a Hollywood actress.

* Akira in the ''[[ShowWithinAShow Lucky Channel]]'' segments of ''Manga/LuckyStar'' is revealed to be very cynical and jaded about the entertainment industry when she isn't putting on a GenkiGirl act for the camera, much to the chagrin of Shiraishi. The funny thing is she's not that old (she's fourteen), but started out as a child star (at three years old!) and has been a DeliberatelyCuteChild ever since then.

*** It's not the first time this happens either. When the Movementarian cult steals his entire flock, Lisa finds him spilling gasoline on the floor of his church to burn it down, lamenting [[NoodleIncident "I can't believe it's come down to this again."]]

* Famously averted by Clayton Moore, Film/TheLoneRanger (he loved the role so much his autobiography is called ''I Was That Masked Man'').