John Krasinski and Natalie Portman on Diving Headfirst Into the ‘Fountain of Youth’

Sibling duos have lit up the screens since time immemorial. Sometimes they are in sync to a fault like Fred and George Weasley, sometimes they are the polar opposites of each other like Anna and Elsa Oldenburg, and sometimes they come with an iffy—albeit iconic—storyline like Luke and Leia Skywalker. Luke and Charlotte Purdue, to a degree, are an amalgamation of those pairings. They bicker, bruise, and bond throughout their journey of finding the Fountain of Youth.

Like many others in the canon, Luke and Charlotte’s adventurous spirit is inherited from their archaeologist father. His passing, however, caused them to drift in different directions. While he continues to walk the path of danger and discovery, she retreats into a relatively dull day-to-day cycle of curating artworks for a gallery. But when the fountain of youth seems to shimmer between myth and map, an invisible tether of curiosity pulls the estranged siblings back together.

Fountain of Youth is a thrilling ride that juxtaposes the good and the bad of human nature—it unearths our wonder of the world and unmasks our guise on greed—and steering the Guy Ritchie’s sweeping epic are John Krasinski and Natalie Portman. Ahead, the actors gave a glimpse at the inner workings of the movie, which had them gallivanting around the globe from Bangkok to Vienna, London to Cairo during its arduous yet wholly rewarding five-month principal photography.

What are the key ingredients in making a good action-adventure film?

John (J): It’s genuinely the director. To have someone with a vision is the reason why Fountain of Youth works. He brought his own personality to every single shot in every single location. To be in a Guy Ritchie version of this genre is what made it so unique and fun for me. There’s the chemistry between actors, too, which was super easy with Natalie. She’s one of my favourite actors of all time—to get to laugh with her as much as I did was so much fun.

The stunt work and action sequences were truly spectacular. How did this project compare to your past work in terms of challenge and scale?

Natalie (N): For me, it was very, very different because everything I have done on this scale has had so much CGI. Fountain of Youth was shot in real places with real people. So there was a thrill of actually being part of it. The car chase scene in Liverpool, for example, was real. I wasn’t the one driving, of course, but that was genuine screaming terror from me because we were really whipping around corners. It was exciting to get to experience those sequences in real time.

J: Yeah, same. I have done action sequences before, but nothing on this scale. A perfect example, for me, is the fight scene in Vienna. I have never done a fight scene in the national library of a country. And flying a drone around in the library while we’re fighting was surreal and fun.

The costumes are always a highlight in a Guy Ritchie film. Did you both have a favourite?

N: The costumes are incredible—and very Guy. I mean, he would come to the set dressed as if he were a character in the movie. At one point, he wouldn’t wear his life preserver when we went into the water, so they made him one that was in houndstooth or plaid or something, so it would go with his outfit. It was very cool.

J: Getting to wear a Guy Ritchie costume is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I don’t think you ever look better than you do in a Guy Ritchie movie because he designs every single thing. He and our incredible costume designer, Loulou Bontemps, came up with looks that you feel like you have never seen before. They’re very refreshing and fun.

Did you try to sneak one away?

N: I did steal my tie and the scarf.

J: Wow. Now we know. I really should have stolen the brown corduroy suit because that was awesome. It was bespoke. It was made for me, which I was excited about.

Your characters have very different personalities in the movie. So, which character do you personally relate to more?

N: I am an only child, so I have always dreamt of having a brother. But if I had a brother who dragged me into trouble, I would probably resent him a lot. I think in life, I’m pretty reliable and responsible. So maybe I’m more Charlotte, but I feel like I take risks in my creative life, which are maybe safer risks to take.

Can you share some of the things that you have learned about each other and maybe things that you would like to unlearn about each other?

J: Oh man, unlearn? I got to—not learn it but—experience how funny Natalie is. She’s so much fun to hang out with and genuinely one of the smartest, most interesting people I’ve met—and she’s also very interested. She’s as interested as she is interesting, which is honestly one of the better compliments in life you can get because not a lot of people are that way. So for me, it was just fun the whole time.

N: That’s very kind. The feeling is mutual. John is so kind, so good at what he does, so professional, and such a great leader. When you’re number one on the call sheet, you set the tone for everyone. He treats everyone so kindly and is in such good energy and spirits all the time. He gathers everyone together. It was an incredible group experience because there were a lot of us all the time. I don’t think I’d like to unlearn anything about him.

You aren’t always working on projects that your children could watch. Have your kids seen this movie?

J: My kids have not seen the movie yet, but they will. They were in Vienna with us, and I told them about the movie before we shot it. So, they are very excited to see this. They also love Guy Ritchie. They were always in his trailer hanging out with him. I feel like it is a family-friendly movie, partly because it was a family-made movie. It definitely felt like a family on set. It’s hard to find a movie that’s for everybody in your family like this one.

This is the kind of movie they don’t really make anymore. How do you feel about possibly bringing back the excitement of Hollywood adventure movies?

J: I hope it does. I had the most fun doing it because this is the kind of movie I got into movies for. I used to pretend to be in movies like this. To actually be in a movie like this is thrilling. I do hope that they keep making them because I agree that there’s a need for them. But now more than ever, you just want to be transported to places you have never been and meet people you have never met. That’s the exciting part of this movie. I hope we get to do another one.

Given the central theme of the movie, do you think we experience undue pressure to maintain youthfulness?

N: I think there’s definitely an obsession with it. But one of the things the movie talks about that I love is the metaphor of it, which is looking for that wonder that we have as young people. That passion, curiosity, and sense of adventure—that’s what we’re looking for. So I like to think that the external search for it is actually kind of a misplaced internal search. What we really want is to feel young again—to feel that excitement, that passion, that awe of the world.

Natalie, Fountain of Youth marks your 60th feature film. How has your perspective of acting evolved through the years?

N: That’s a great question. I definitely thought I would’ve retired by now. When I was younger, I thought I would be done by 35. But no, I still like it. Filmmaking is still exciting, fun, interesting, and meaningful to me, and that has been the biggest surprise. Part of it is, I think, growing up on movie sets that makes it such a comfortable and fun environment for me, but also the opportunity to create with other people is so magical. I mean, a group of people creating something together with their eye on one vision, led by a director. You’re like an orchestra, and the sound you can create together is magical. I haven’t found anything else quite like it in terms of creative expression. I feel very, very lucky.

If you had the chance to drink from a real fountain of youth, would you?

J: I don’t know. It’s funny because the conversation that we had about this very question was one of the more interesting ones. We had it almost every single day in Guy’s trailer—about what the fountain of youth really is, what the journey is like, and what prize it offers. For me, the fountain isn’t a thing that you could drink from, but it’s this idea of enlightenment that you realise now that you’re living in a moment that is potentially the most joyful of your life. So act accordingly. I thought that was inspiring. So I guess I wouldn’t drink from it because I would just try to do exactly that, which is look around in my life for the ways to find joy and to find this youthfulness, rather than constantly searching for something I don’t have.

‘Fountain of Youth’ premieres globally on Apple TV+ on 23 May 2025. For more culture reads, click here.