director, and his pitch was incredible – he had this clear vision and this unique way of looking at action. After seeing [his film] Nobody [starring Bob Odenkirk as a family man and retired assassin], I knew he’d do something special with this.” “I really wanted to work with John again, we had such great chemistry on Suicide Squad and actually followed through on that whole ‘let’s work together again’ thing that actors always say but never do,” adds Elba, who clearly has a bit of a friend-crush on F9 and Fast X actor Cena.“I learned so much from John. You have these preconceptions from his wrestling career and interviews, but meeting him – wow. He’s incredibly talented, always prepared, knows everyone’s lines, not just his own.And get this, he can even do scenes in Mandarin! He’s super disciplined, always on time, and this massive reader. He’ll be sitting there with some 700-page book about cloud theology or something!” What Elba is really blown away by, though, is Cena’s knack for improvisation.“He just pulls these hilarious, random moments out of thin air that feel like they were scripted. It’s almost savant-level stuff,” he raves. “I loved every day on set, but this one’s special because I’m working with incredible performers,” says Massachusetts-born Cena, highlighting Indian actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, 42, who plays an MI6 operative who has something of a backstory with Elba’s PM. “My character Noel has to keep these two very important people alive while they’re bickering,” says Chopra Jonas, who has previously starred in Love Again and Baywatch.“There’s all this fun tension – Sam and Will arguing, plus this maybe-rekindling thing between Noel and Sam, while Will’s like ‘Guys, not the time!’ [laughs].We’re these three oddballs thrown together, trying to survive.” The former Miss World winner loved working with Cena and Elba and said you could really tell they were friends.“You can totally see that ease on set.There’s lots of fun improv after their lines, and I’m just there like,‘Yep, just witnessing this amazing performance!’ They’re such gentlemen but also just fun to work with,” she says.“We spent four days filming in the Beast [the car – check out the trailer for a preview], and watching them become these characters was amazing.We had such great conversations between takes – just us three and the sound guy!” Heads Of State fills that summer blockbuster slot perfectly, and you can’t go wrong with an action comedy, says The Wire legend Elba.“This genre has
SHOWBIZ Film Heads of State Idris Elba talks new film Heads Of State: ‘These guys couldn’t even order lunch together, you know what I mean?’ By Ella Walker, PA 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. “It all started when I met Idris on Suicide Squad.We just clicked – he’s super professional and funny, and we complement each other really well,” says pro wrestler Cena, 48.“I told him I’d love to work together again, and [producer] Peter Safran overheard and said,‘I’ve got something’.Then Ilya [Naishuller] came on as
Photo: Idris Elba as Sam Clarke and John Cena as Will Derringer.
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