"However, there's three reasons for doing things in this particular world. One is love, one is prestige and the other's money. If you get all three together, that's fine"
About this Quote
O'Brien frames ambition with the blunt, backstage realism of an entertainer who has seen both the glamour and the invoices. The line lands because it refuses the comforting lie that art (or any “doing”) is powered by a single pure motive. Instead, he offers a three-part engine: love, prestige, money. It sounds cynical until you notice the shrug of compassion built into it. He isn't condemning those motives; he's normalizing them.
The subtext is showbiz math. Love is the spark: the irrational attachment to a project, a role, a community, the sheer pleasure of making something. Prestige is the social proof: awards, reviews, the feeling of being taken seriously in an industry that can treat people as interchangeable. Money is survival, leverage, and freedom from the next gig’s desperation. O'Brien's triad is less a moral hierarchy than a practical inventory, like checking your pockets before you go onstage.
The kicker is the last sentence: "If you get all three together, that's fine". It's a deliberately modest benediction. Not “that's the dream,” not “that's success,” just fine - as if to puncture the myth that fulfillment must look transcendent. Coming from the creator-performer behind The Rocky Horror Show, a cult phenomenon that fused passion, notoriety, and eventually profit, the remark reads like hard-earned permission. You can chase joy without pretending you don't want credit. You can want stability without apologizing. The quote works because it’s honest about mixed motives while quietly arguing they don’t have to cheapen the work.
The subtext is showbiz math. Love is the spark: the irrational attachment to a project, a role, a community, the sheer pleasure of making something. Prestige is the social proof: awards, reviews, the feeling of being taken seriously in an industry that can treat people as interchangeable. Money is survival, leverage, and freedom from the next gig’s desperation. O'Brien's triad is less a moral hierarchy than a practical inventory, like checking your pockets before you go onstage.
The kicker is the last sentence: "If you get all three together, that's fine". It's a deliberately modest benediction. Not “that's the dream,” not “that's success,” just fine - as if to puncture the myth that fulfillment must look transcendent. Coming from the creator-performer behind The Rocky Horror Show, a cult phenomenon that fused passion, notoriety, and eventually profit, the remark reads like hard-earned permission. You can chase joy without pretending you don't want credit. You can want stability without apologizing. The quote works because it’s honest about mixed motives while quietly arguing they don’t have to cheapen the work.
Quote Details
| Topic | Meaning of Life |
|---|
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