Heads of State
Short description
The US President and the UK Prime Minister maintain a public rivalry that jeopardizes the alliance between their two nations. When a powerful enemy targets them, the two leaders are forced to cooperate and go on a multinational journey to survive. Assisted by an MI6 agent named Noel, they work together to stop a conspiracy that puts the free world at risk.
This action comedy thriller was directed by Ilya Naishuller, following his work on Hardcore Henry and Nobody. The film stars John Cena as Will Derringer, Idris Elba as Sam Clarke, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas as Noel Bisset. The supporting cast includes Paddy Considine, Carla Gugino, and Stephen Root, with a total of 71 credited actors and 53 crew members.
Produced by The Safran Company, Amazon MGM Studios, Potboiler Productions, and Big Indie Pictures, the movie had a budget of 158 million USD. It has received generally positive feedback from audiences, earning a 6.4 rating on IMDb from 67,000 votes and a 6.8 rating on TMDB from 1,147 votes. These viewer scores are higher than the 5.9 rating provided by film critics based on 114 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- Jack Quaid enjoyed filming "Heads of State" so much, where he played Marty Comer, that he immediately signed on to star in Dan Berk and Robert Olsen's comedic action film "Novocaine" (2025).
- Sam Clarke, played by Idris Elba, goes for a run wearing a baseball cap with the logo of the professional football club "Arsenal". The actor is a passionate fan of this club.
- It took director Ilya Naishuller five months to create the film's storyboard, including repeatedly redrawing scenes with the attack on the presidential plane.
- In a scene filmed in the style of Wes Anderson, in which Priyanka Chopra Jonas's character moves from a festival in Spain to a safe house, the film's director Ilya Naishuller appeared on screen (he played a Polish-American police officer whose car is taken, and who is himself handcuffed).
- When the main characters, played by John Cena and Idris Elba, prepare to jump from the train, the former advises the latter to press his chin to his chest during the jump. This is a reference to Cena's past, as he was once a professional wrestler, and they are specifically taught to press their chin to their chest during falls to avoid injuries.
- In one scene, the viewer sees a doorbell and a nameplate with the resident's name – “P. Pogorzhelsky”. This is a reference to Pavel Pogorzhelsky, who was the operator in the director Ilya Naishuller's previous project, "Nobody", a 2021 thriller.
- When the presidential plane flips over and oxygen masks hang from the ceiling, the president and prime minister roll along the wall and end up on the ceiling, but the oxygen masks continue to hang as before.
- Initially, the film was conceived as a thriller. When Ilya Naishuller joined the creative team, he decided it would be better to make it a comedic action film.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
