<P> In March 2010, Alex Pettyfer was in talks to play the title character in the film, Number Four . It was later confirmed that the 21 - year - old British actor would play the lead . Sharlto Copley was going to star as Henri, Number Four's guardian and mentor, but had to drop out due to press obligations with his film The A-Team . Copley was replaced by Timothy Olyphant . Kevin Durand plays the villain of the film, Commander, the Mogadorian who leads the hunt for the Loriens on Earth . </P> <P> DreamWorks went through multiple rounds of tests to find the right actress for the female romantic lead . Dianna Agron, a star in the Fox television series Glee, won the role . She plays Sarah Hart, a girl who used to date a high school football player, but falls for Number Four and keeps his secret . Jake Abel plays the football player, Mark James, an antagonist in the film . Teresa Palmer plays the other Loric, Number Six, and 16 - year - old Australian actor Callan McAuliffe plays Sam Goode, Number Four's best friend . </P> <P> Principal photography began on May 17, 2010, using 20 locations all within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area . DreamWorks selected the area primarily due to tax incentives from the Pennsylvania Film Production Tax Credit . The film studio also had a positive experience shooting She's Out of My League in Pittsburgh in 2008 . The production was scheduled to last 12 to 13 weeks . </P> <P> Cinematographer Guillermo Navarro shot the film on 35 mm, using a format known as Super 1: 85 . Beaver, the former Conley Inn in Homewood, and nearby Buttermilk Falls were used as locations in the film; interior and exterior scenes were shot near a boat launch in Monaca . A spring fair scene was filmed in Deer Lakes Park in West Deer; Port Vue, North Park, New Kensington and Hyde Park were also used as locations . The setting of the film's fictional town of Paradise, Ohio is Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, where filming took place from June to July 2010 . Producers chose Vandergrift as the "hero town" of the film because of its unique look and curved streets, laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of New York City's Central Park . </P>

Where was the movie i am number four filmed