History Main / SecretlySelfish

Or just [[AttentionWhore seeking attention]]?

The usual "selfish" motive offered is usually one of reputation or identity: doing these altruistic or self-sacrificing things fills a void for the person doing them. If someone or something comes along that would remove that burden from their shoulders, they panic - because who are they if not the LoveMartyr or TheCaretaker? Alternatively, being good may reap social rewards, making their good deeds a transaction rather than a gift.

Even if the hero reluctantly admits that they get something out of the deal, being Secretly Selfish does not make a character "bad", just plausibly flawed, and it's possible for CharacterDevelopment to [[BecomingTheMask make a character become more genuinely selfless]]. However, there is definitely a truly selfish variation. In these cases, the character is usually outright lying to themselves about their motives, and in need of a [[WhatTheHellHero calling out]].

* ''Film/TheHobbit'': Although [[Characters/MiddleEarthFilmTheCompany Thorin Oakenshield]] has a multiple-fold legitimate claim on the Lonely Mountain and its treasure, and he further justifies his quest to reclaim the kingdom from Smaug with righteous vengeance; as he gets closer to the mountain and its treasure, it becomes increasingly apparent that Thorin is also motivated to reclaim the mountain and risk unleashing [[PersonOfMassDestruction Smaug's wrath]] upon Middle-earth due to {{greed}} and {{pride}}. Bard and Thranduil are not wrong when they unfavorably compare Thorin to his late grandfather, who went mad with GoldFever -- Smaug takes it a step further by trying to convince Bilbo that Thorin is a craven bastard who values the treasure more than Bilbo's life and only hired Bilbo as a means to an end. [[spoiler:In [[Film/TheHobbitTheBattleOfTheFiveArmies the final film]], Thorin proves all his critics right when he almost-fully succumbs to GoldFever, callously turns away the people who helped him and who have suffered at Smaug's hands ''because of him''; outright ''trying to murder Bilbo'' for getting between him and his treasure, and letting everyone else including his kin die fighting for him while he hides away with the treasure, at which point even his most staunchly-loyal dwarf allies have to call him out. Thanks to all the call-outs, Thorin eventually comes back from the brink a better person than before]].

** Dr. [[Characters/MonsterVerseEmmaRussell Emma Russell]] in ''[[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019 Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]'' is a villainous, WellIntentionedExtremist case, who is working with paramilitary [[EcoTerrorist eco-terrorists]] to set the [[{{Kaiju}} Titans]] loose on the world (and let millions of people die in the initial chaos) because she believes it's the only way to save the world from a manmade ecological collapse which will wipe out all of humanity, and because the government were about to try exterminating the Titans in their sleep (thereby cutting off the Earth's only chance at being replenished if they were to succeed) before Emma acted. Emma has just enough [[EvenEvilHasStandards standards]] and genuine proven points behind her cause to avoid crossing into being a NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist. All of that having been said, it's heavily implied that underneath Emma's well intentions and justifications for her agenda, she's ''really'' using her unresolved grief over [[OutlivingOnesOffspring her son's death]] to lash out against the world, because she blames the human race at large for triggering the Titan attack which killed him via our ecologically-destructive ways; and everyone in the cast except Emma herself seems to be all too aware of this once her actions come to light. Both Mark and Madison call Emma out, and that (combined with other factors) eventually forces Emma into a HeelRealization.
** Jerkass Woobie [[Characters/MonsterVerseMarkRussell Mark Russell]] overall shows multiple signs of thinking more about his own feelings than about those of his loved ones or his son's memory. In the ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' official {{novelization}}, after he tries to guilt-trip Madison into obeying him in an attempt to keep her away from Titan-related danger, she [[CallingTheOldManOut calls out]] his oppressive and authoritarian conduct as a parent. Mark is convincing himself that he's keeping Madison safe by [[MyBelovedSmother ordering her around and helicoptering her with his sister's help]], and that her being mad at him for it is a worthwhile price; but Madison points out that he's really putting his own fear of losing his surviving daughter ahead of any consideration for her emotional needs or her own feelings, and he'd rather feel sorry for himself than consider the possibility that his shoddy parenting methods are going to either stifle his [[WiseBeyondTheirYears highly-capable]] daughter's growth and potential or just push her away from him all over again. Worse yet, it takes [[JerkassRealization finding out that his authoritarianism and patronizing of Madison only pushed her to strike out on her own]] for Mark to even take Madison's point seriously.