Wealth & Money Quote by Kristen Johnston

There’s a delicious anti-myth tucked into Kristen Johnston’s blunt little confession: she didn’t come to L.A. to be “discovered,” to chase art, or to fulfill a destiny. She came to get paid. In a town built on origin stories, that’s a small act of rebellion.

The intent reads like a pressure valve. Actors are expected to perform sincerity off-screen too - the humble gratitude, the reverence for craft, the wide-eyed dream narrative. Johnston cuts through that with a line that’s half-joke, half-truth, and fully strategic. By framing ambition as mercenary, she punctures the sanctimony that often surrounds celebrity success, and she gets ahead of judgment. If you admit you’re in it for the money, nobody can “expose” you later.

The subtext is more complicated than cynicism. “Take the money and run” carries the flicker of someone who understands how unstable the industry is: today’s series regular can become tomorrow’s trivia answer. The line acknowledges the gig economy reality of acting - a profession where practical survival is disguised as passion, and where financial security is treated like an impolite goal.

Context matters: Johnston came up in an era when sitcom stardom could be both a rocket ship and a trap, especially for women who were expected to be likable, grateful, and endlessly game. This quote rejects likability as a performance. It’s funny because it’s impolite; it lands because it’s honest about the deal everyone’s pretending isn’t the deal.