Making his directing debut, Rock starred as Mays Gilliam, an alderman, who is chosen as the party candidate for the presidency in 2003's Head of State. "The way the guy runs is not really black; it's just alternative. It's black. It's white. It's gay. It's straight. You know what I mean? He goes everywhere . . . He's got the women with the babies," Rock told Hollywood.com in March 2003. "I mean, he's working it, working all the angles."