'It's totally an homage to those great action comedies'

Idris Elba, John Cena and Priyanka Chopra Jonas share the joy of making 80s-throwback action comedy Heads Of State together - the film is on Amazon Prime Video now

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It can be easy to despair at the state of world leadership right now, so imagining an alternative reality, where actors John Cena and Idris Elba are in charge, makes for a rather refreshing antidote to current politics.

New Prime Video movie Heads Of State sees London-born Elba, 52, play British Prime Minister Sam Clarke, “who is the yin to John Cena’s American President yang”, the Golden Globe winner says. “We really don’t get along. Our countries are in this tense relationship when we meet at a press conference. Then suddenly, we get hijacked and have to work together to survive.”

They are “playing with that classic straight man/funny man dynamic” explains the Luther star. “My character is this grumpy, seasoned Prime Minister with this political rain cloud hanging over him. Meanwhile, John’s character [Will Derringer] is like, ‘Hey, no worries, I'm the American President!’ These guys couldn’t even order lunch together, you know what I mean?” he continues. “You start the movie thinking, ‘These two absolutely hate each other’ - but where their relationship ends up, it actually becomes quite moving.”

This isn't the pair’s first rodeo together; they met while starring as dysfunctional super-villains in 2021 film The Suicide Squad.