Actors Natalie Portman and John Krasinski bring on-screen sibling rivalry to Fountain Of Youth

LOS ANGELES – For moviegoers missing grand archaeological action adventures such as those in the Indiana Jones (1981 to 2023) and The Mummy (1999 to 2017) films, Fountain Of Youth will scratch an itch.

But instead of a lone hero as the protagonist, the new movie revolves around two bickering siblings, played by John Krasinski and Natalie Portman.

Directed by English film-maker Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes, 2009 and 2011; Aladdin, 2019) and debuting on Apple TV+ on May 23, Fountain Of Youth follows estranged brother-and-sister duo Luke (Krasinski) and Charlotte Purdue (Portman), whose late father was a famous archaeologist.

Bankrolled by enigmatic billionaire Owen Carver (Domhnall Gleeson), they decide to set aside their differences and try to find the mythological fountain of youth.

Speaking to The Straits Times and other media over Zoom recently, Krasinski, 45, says he used to fantasise about being in an Indiana Jones movie.

“He was the first person who wasn’t wearing a cape. He was a superhero who was just using his brain and sheer will to get to these places, and I thought that was really cool,” says the American actor. Krasinski wrote, directed and starred in the A Quiet Place horror films (2018 and 2020).

Portman, 43, was drawn to the fact that the main characters are siblings.

“A relationship between brother and sister is quite rare to see at the centre of this kind of movie, and one of the reasons I was so excited to play this role,” says the American performer. She won a Best Actress Oscar for playing a troubled ballerina in the psychological drama Black Swan (2010).

“I always dreamt of having a sibling, being an only child, so I got to put years of imagination to work in the movie,” adds the former child star, who also appeared as scientist Jane Foster in the Thor superhero blockbusters (2011 to 2022).

Krasinski felt the same way.

“I get to play this unique thing where it’s not a love story, it’s actually a sibling rivalry,” says the actor, who also played the title character in the Jack Ryan spy series (2018 to 2023).

“The second I see her, we get right into bickering because I know her entire history, she knows my entire history, and it launches the movie in a very different way.”

And the co-stars connected immediately off-camera too.

“Natalie was just like the sister I never had,” says Krasinski, who is the youngest of three sons.

“We started working together in Vienna, and she was nice enough to come to dinner with my family and me and that was really fun,” adds the actor. He is married to English actress Emily Blunt, 42, and they have two daughters, aged 11 and eight.

“And Natalie’s done all these iconic roles, but she was so incredibly funny every day on set and, for me, the sense of humour was the way in. All the bickering (between our characters) comes from all the jokes off-camera.”

“It was so fun getting to work with John,” adds Portman, who has two children, aged 13 and eight, with former husband Benjamin Millepied, a 47-year-old French choreographer.

“He’s obviously a brilliant actor and he’s a very funny person in real life, and he made me feel very comfortable and at ease right away.”

As the characters go on a globetrotting heist, the production filmed on location in Bangkok, Vienna and Cairo.

The latter saw them shoot at the Great Pyramids – a backdrop so stunning, it made their job easier.

“They were so jaw-dropping that there was no acting required,” Krasinski says. “I couldn’t believe they let us get that close to the pyramids. That was pretty incredible.”

Portman adds: “The pyramids are so mysterious that when you’re there, you really are, like, ‘How did they build these hundreds of years ago?’

“So, it definitely added to the mystery and awe of what we’re exploring in the movie.”