Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Paul "Triple H" Levesque has spent the past quarter century living and breathing life in the WWE. Given his legendary dedication to the business, it's likely he would've ended up working behind the scenes even if wasn't married to the boss's daughter. That is why it's surprising to look back to his run as a full time performer for the company, and remember that the Cerebral Assassin managed to find time to take part in a big budget Hollywood blockbuster.
In 2004, The Game had a supporting role in Blade: Trinity, the third and final installment of the beloved Blade movie franchise starring Wesley Snipes. The first two films in the trilogy were box-office hits and are considered the first legitimate movies based off a Marvel comic character, setting the tone for over two decades of greatness in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Blade: Trinity, however, was a critical and commercial failure that abruptly ended the franchise despite boasting a stellar cast of all-stars who are still popular today.
So why exactly did Hunter Hearst Helmsley decide to step away from the ring to head for Hollywood? The Game explained in an interview that he actually planned on getting into the movie business sooner: "Vince McMahon actually came to myself and The Rock three or four years ago and was actually talking to us at that time about breaking into Hollywood." When promoting the film, Helmsley discussed how Vince "felt the two of us had the ability to do it and wanted to know if we we're interested in doing it and we both said yes."
Shortly after that encouragement from Vince McMahon, however, Triple H suffered his infamous quad injury which put those plans on ice. When he came back eight months later, he wanted to focus on wrestling and get his in-ring career back on track rather than take more time off to pursue acting.
Upon returning to the WWE in January 2002, Triple H went right back into the main event scene. As Attitude Era icons Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock were leaving, The Game carried the load as World Heavyweight champion for most of 2002 and 2003. Even with his busy wrestling schedule, Helmsley remained interested in the film industry. When he was given the script to Blade: Trinity from New Line Cinema, he got onboard immediately.
In the movie, Triple H's plays a vampire by the name of Jarko Grimwood. While the typical vampire is slim and creepy, Grimwood is a large and bulky creature that could only be played by a professional wrestler. His steel teeth were also an homage to the famous James Bond enemy Jaws. In the film, he follows a vampire sibling duo who discover the tomb of Dracula and are on a mission to destroy the titular hero of the series. Since Grimwood is a mostly one-dimensional enforcer for the vampires, the film gives him a softer side by giving him a pet Pomeranian dog who also has mutant vampire powers.
Helmsley described having a blast playing Grimwood, saying "It wasn't just the character, it was the whole experience, you know the director David Goyer was great to work with, and the cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jessica Biel, Parker Posey, Wesley. Everybody was just so much fun to be around...everybody was just joking all the time and having fun." Anyone who has ever fantasized about seeing a fight between Deadpool and Triple H gets it in Blade: Trinity. Ryan Reynolds was a fan of The Game who insisted on doing his big fight scene against Grimwood without stuntmen.
While Helmsley had nothing but good things to say about his experience on Blade: Trinity, the rest of the production was tumultuous to the say the least. Star Wesley Snipes was a method actor who insisted on staying in character as Blade in between takes, and his feuding with director David S. Goyer drove the filming into utter chaos. Comedian Patton Oswalt, who had a small part in the film, summed it up best, saying "if you know what they went through to get that movie made, it is an A+. The fact that that movie exists puts it above Citizen Kane."
While Blade: Trinity wasn't exactly the vehicle that would make Triple H into a bonafide film star, his follow-up project had the potential to. In the early years of WWE Films, the company had planned to produce a motorcycle western titled Jornada del Muerte starring The Game and penned by Apocalypse Now and Conan the Barbarian screenwriter John Milius. However, just as the project was about to shoot a power struggle between producer Vince McMahon and Milius ensued and the movie fell apart. The idea of having Triple H play the son of Conan the Barbarian in a sequel titled King Conan: Crown of Iron was tossed around, but that film didn't come to fruition due to Arnold Schwarzenegger's duties as the Governor of California.
Once those film projects fell through, Helmsley returned his focus towards his true love: professional wrestling. He continued to perform for the WWE as a full-timer and main eventer well into his late-30s. In 2010, The King of Kings transitioned into the executive division of the WWE while also tring his hands in movies again. 2011 saw The Game star in WWE Film's family comedy The Chaperone and re-unite with Blade: Trinity co-star Parker Posey in the action film Inside Out. Both movies went straight to DVD, and were received as well as any other WWE Studios film from the 2010s (which is to say, not well). Since then, he's brought his focus back on wrestling as the founder of NXT and WWE's Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy and Development.