Hold onto your fedoras and flashlights! Director Guy Ritchie is delivering pulse-pounding stunts, exotic locations and Indiana Jones-style mysteries in new action-adventure movie, Fountain of Youth, streaming on Apple TV Plus from May 23.
The globe-trotting caper follows squabbling siblings Luke (John Krasinski) and Charlotte Purdue (Natalie Portman), treasure hunters who reunite for a wild expedition to unearth age-old secrets and locate the mythological fountain of youth.
Luke is a daring, rule-breaking artifact hunter, while Charlotte enjoys her grounded, stable life as an art curator in London. But when Luke steals artwork from his sister’s gallery and upends her whole world, Charlotte has little choice but to join Luke’s madcap mission funded by mysterious billionaire Owen Carver (Domhnall Gleeson).
As their puzzle-solving heist spans Bangkok, Vienna, London and Cairo, hot on their trail are the Thai mafia, Interpol and a dangerous secret sect led by the enigmatic Esmé (Eiza González).
What to Watch chatted with John Krasinski, 45, and Natalie Portman, 43, to find out more…
What can you tell us about this adventurous brother-sister duo?
John: “Characters like Luke don’t come along very often. He’s a fun-hearted, adventurous spirit and sees Charlotte as a stick in the mud. But I think everyone becomes a Guy Ritchie action hero once Guy has time with the character. I’ve loved this experience from head-to-toe because of him.”
Natalie: “I’m an only child and have always dreamt of having a brother, but not the sort who would drag me into trouble like Luke! Charlotte got married, had a kid and decided to have this safe, controlled life. There’s a lot of sibling rivalry, but she rediscovers the beauty of adventure with him.”
You're both already action heroes but some of the stunt work, such as fighting on a shipwreck and chasing through the Pyramids of Egypt, must have been career-firsts?
Natalie: “Absolutely! Anything I’ve done on this scale before has had so much CGI, but most of the action is in real places with real people. We were filming car stunts in Liverpool and you’ll see genuine terror and screaming from me because we were really whipping around corners in a chase.”
John: “I’ve done action sequences before but nothing on this scale. A perfect example is the fight I have with Eiza González in Vienna. I’ve been in fight scenes, but never in a national library flying a drone around. It was surreal and really fun.”
It was a globe-trotting shoot too, with filming in Thailand, Austria, the UK and Egypt…
John: “Seeing these places up close and shooting at the base of the Great Pyramids was thrilling. It was a long shoot with a lot of travelling, but my kids were with us in Vienna. They loved Guy Ritchie and were hanging out in his trailer.”
Natalie: “I wish we’d had more time in these incredible places. The Pyramids is by far the most insane location I’ve ever shot at.”
Aside from the epic stunts and far-flung locations, what else appealed to you about Fountain of Youth?
John: “Well, they don’t make movies like this anymore, but to be in a Guy Ritchie version of this genre is what made it so unique and fun for me. It’s the movie I got into this industry for, and I hope all the fun we had making it pops through the screen. It’s so family-friendly, even my own kids can’t wait to see it.”
Natalie: “Guy knows how to entertain and this is the sort of escapism we need right now. I’ve never experienced this scale on any film: it’s the kind of epic family adventure that we don’t get to see these days. It’s also unusual to have a film led by siblings of opposite genders.”
Would you drink from a real fountain of youth if you had the chance?
John: “We had this conversation every day in Guy’s trailer. For me, the fountain is more of an idea of enlightenment, as you realise that you’re living in a moment that is potentially the most joyful of your life, so act accordingly. I’d look for ways to find happiness in my life rather than constantly search for something I don’t have.”
Natalie: “I love the metaphor that the external search for it symbolises an internal desire to recapture the wonder, passion and adventure of youth. All we really want is to feel that excitement and awe of the world.”
Fountain of Youth is available to stream on Apple TV Plus from Friday, May 23.
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