Idris Elba, John Cena and Priyanka Chopra Jonas brought Ilya Naishuller’s action comedy Heads of State to BFI Southbank on the eve of its worldwide release.
Ilya Naishuller’s action comedy Heads of State had its UK premiere at BFI Southbank on the South Bank on Tuesday 1 July 2025. Idris Elba, John Cena and Priyanka Chopra Jonas joined Naishuller on the carpet.
Elba, who plays the British prime minister Sam Clarke, was born in Hackney in 1972 and studied acting at the National Youth Music Theatre. He came to notice in Britain in Family Affairs and in America as Stringer Bell in The Wire.
His DCI John Luther in the BBC’s Luther won him a Golden Globe. He played Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and directed his first feature, Yardie, in 2018.
Cena plays the American president Will Derringer. His public rivalry with Clarke turns into an alliance when Air Force One is shot down on the way to a NATO summit in Trieste. Chopra Jonas plays Noel Bisset, the MI6 agent who keeps them alive.
Prime Video billed the evening as a UK special screening. The film began streaming worldwide on the service the next day, 2 July.
Sarah Niles and Richard Coyle, who also appear in the film, joined the cast on the carpet.