What if two people with wildly different personalities are forced to team up and work together? In Ilya Naishuller's recent action-comedy, Heads of State, the unlikely figures are a movie star turned President of the United States of America, played by John Cena, and a soldier turned Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, played by Idris Elba. John Cena says, "The origin story of the film is a continuation of the chemistry that I share with Idris Elba from The Suicide Squad (2021)." Speaking about the appeal of the genre, the actor says, "When you start with an identifiable lane like action-comedy, which is the language of the world, you get to make comedy with action rather than punchlines."
In Heads of State, Will Derringer will have to team up with UK Prime Minister Sam Clarke and MI6 agent Noel Bisset, played by Priyanka Chopra Jonas, to fight their way against enemies to prevent an international crisis. In a story with some tough men, Noel is the tough woman, trying to save the lives of those tough men. On the sense of responsibility that comes with a tough character, Priyanka says, “This movie is predominantly made by men. The director is a man, the producers are men, and the co-actors are men. But all of them being feminist men, knew that the muscle in this movie would be a woman.” Surprisingly, Priyanka adds that, “I thought this was funny, not because I think women aren’t capable, but just the sheer size of me next to John and Idris felt hysterical.”
Playing the President of the United States has put John Cena on a list along with actors like Harrison Ford, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Robin Williams. On whether John took inspiration to portray President Will Derringer, John immediately replies with, “No.” He goes on to say, “I think what is special about a character description of the President of the United States is that everyone across the world has a vision in their mind. In a film like Heads of State, where the titles are established but the characters are unknown, you are able to spend a lot of time developing a character. But because the script defines the character well, I get interesting traits like recklessly optimistic, stubborn, and the need to be adored to portray on screen.”
In the film, Derringer, Sam Clarke, and Noel Bisset tackle henchmen in all types of terrain. Whether it's planes, trains, or automobiles, there are henchmen, and there are high stakes. Heads of State consists of several meticulously designed action set pieces. Director Ilya reveals that the toughest set piece to film was the car chase, involving a limousine (dubbed ‘The Beast’). “On the exterior, you are just going through Trieste, Italy, as things are blowing up. But on the interior, it is four people fighting inside a very small space. John is a big guy, but when you add Idris, we have no space for the camera. So, sometimes, the fake punches were real.” Ilya added, “John got clipped. So, I had to say, ‘Let’s do that again. Please do not punch John on the face.’” John responds, “I had to tell them that I have been punched harder by stronger men.”
Heads of State lies in a familiar arena of films, in that it is similar to the style of 80s action films. The classic tropes of epic set pieces, characters that range from focused to goofy, and a jet-setting story that takes you all over the world make Heads of State feel like a familiar watch. Director Ilya Naishuller excitedly shares, “I love the 80s and 90s buddy genre. When this film was pitched to me, it was an action thriller. But I wanted to create characters with low survival skills. I wanted to create John’s character in a way that brings out John’s comedic perspective.” Interestingly, Ilya also shares that while creating the film, his synaesthesia helped him. “I would play music and play the movie in my head. Because I see everything in colour, this felt like a very orange movie to me,” concludes Ilya.