John Cena didn't base his Heads of State character on any specific presidents.

The 48-year-old WWE legend stars as fictional action movie star turned US President Will Derringer in Ilya Naishuller's new blockbuster, and he insisted a lot of the characterisation came from a simple place.

He told Extra: "When you attach a name like the President of the United States, just when I say those words, everyone has a vision of what that means to them.

"And then you read the script and you take terms like aloof, super positive, really stubborn, overly aggressive, like, I can take those personality traits and put together an idea what I think we should look like, and then the last secret sauce is be coachable.

"When the director comes up and is like, 'Hey, all those ideas, throw them out. Let's try one like this.' As long as you're coachable, we'll end up getting what the director wants, which is hopefully the best movie."

The movie stars Cena as Derringer alongside Idris Elba as former SAS-trained commando turned UK Prime Minister Sam Clarke.

Together, the two world leaders must put aside their own rivalry to tackle a global conspiracy after they're targeted by various foreign adversaries.

The movie also stars the like of Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Jack Quaid, Paddy Considine and more.

Cena admitted his professional wrestling experience has given him a greater understanding of "defining your character".

He explained: "I think it's all in the writing, and I think what's important about Heads of State is... I know in WWE, I always relate everything back to that.

"You want to be able to define your character as soon as possible.

"When the music hits and you come through the curtain, if somebody can be like, 'Oh, that's this guy, like, the Undertaker, that's the Dead Mortician, Stone Cold Steve Austin' -- you know who they are."

Meanwhile, Cena insisted he doesn't like to think about what kind of role he wants to play next.

He added: "I don't approach life like that. I don't want to set expectations for myself of things I don't control.

"Things I can control are how I react to the opportunities I'm given in life, so if something comes my way that I think will push me out of my comfort zone within reason and something that it's, you know, it's a stretch goal that's attainable, I'd love to give it a try."