Interview with Triple H from FilmInk Magazine

“It’s all about The Game, and how you play it . . .” so booms the opening of Triple H’s heavy metal wrestling theme, and the lyrics could hardly be more relevant these days. World Wrestling Entertainment – even though not in a boom period – is a multi-million dollar empire, and Triple H is the man destined to inherit it all. No, it’s not an ersatz (artificial) wrestling storyline – Paul Levesque is the real life son-in-law, and Senior Advisor, to WWE CEO Vince McMahon (and has fathered three girls with Vince’s daughter Stephanie). When not learning the art of marketing backstage Triple H is currently taking time out to talk about ‘The Chaperone’, a winning actioner that should more than satisfy its intended Saturday afternoon family audience. Male fans of Triple H should also revel in the physical specimen ticking the funny bone rather than cracking the clavicle this time round.

The Chaperone has him playing an ex-con who commandeers his estranged daughter's (Ariel Winter) excursion in order to reconnect, while fending off thieves who want him back in the criminal underworld. “If you’d asked me fifteen years ago, I would have said, ‘I just want to blow stuff up in a movie’” Triple H concedes with a laugh, down the phoneline from wintry Long Island, New York. “I definitely wouldn’t have looked to do family material. I have kids now though, and I can relate to it more. It’s something I can take my kids to”. Having been a WWE Superstar since 1996, but only a relatively new big screen leading man, it’s an inevitable question as to how Triple H views the differences between the crafts.

“Wrestling is live and immediate. You do something and 20,000 people let you know if they like it or not. It’s instant gratification on the highest level; it’s an immense adrenaline rush. A movie on the other hand, well it’s more like running a marathon. You have to go through this emotional state and stay there and have the same intensity and emotion each time you do a take. You do the scenes over and over and you think ‘Yeah I nailed it’ and all you’ll get in terms of feedback is the director saying ‘Okay, moving on’. If you could set up a stand with 20,000 people on the film set, and at the end of shooting a scene the people went crazy or booed – that would make it easier for me”.

So, how harshly does Triple H – who wears the moniker ‘the Cerebral Assassin’ – analyze his acting performances, given that he has a reputation for clinically dissecting his in-ring work? “I do it in bits and pieces. A lot of times in wrestling, I know that it is good or bad when I am doing it, so if there is something in particular I want to look at again, I wait a few months, until I’ve forgotten it, and then I can kinda watch if fresh – like I’m seeing it for the first time. With movies, I watch them, but I defer to the director. At the end of the day you have to put your trust in them, and I’m happy to do that.

Triple H might be known for his toughness, but The Chaperone shows a softer side. So when is he at his most tender in his day-to-day life? “Oh God, I cried like a little girl when I had my kids. I’ve got three girls and for every one of them I was right there. It doesn’t get more emotional than that. That’s what helped me in this story actually. It’s the story of a father getting redemption with his daughter and trying to prove himself in her eyes because he’s broken her heart. If I was in that same position, I would be devastated”.

For some reason, wrestlers seem particularly good at playing word association games so FilmInk finishes off with a bevy of names and items designed to garner an immediate response.

Ariel Winter: A true genius. Just amazing. She honestly taught me new things about acting and she’s twelve!

Australia: I know you’re looking for a pithy one word answer here – but honestly, if I had to move out of the States and relocate somewhere else in the world, there is no question that it would be Australia. And I don’t adjust the answer depending on which journalist is asking me. Australia is just beautiful.

Moving from acting to directing: Ugh. Beyond my scope of imagination at this point. I saw what Stephen Herek (director of The Chaperone) did to make The Chaperone, and I want nothing to do with it.

Stephanie McMahon: The love of my life.

Vince McMahon: Stunned silence . . . You can hear the mental cogs of Triple H ticking over how to reduce his larger-than-life father-in-law to logline. Finally he opts for ultimate entrepreneur.

And how about the Oscars: Phhhfffttt, overrated.

source: filmink magazine