<P> New cast members include Ian McShane, who plays the notorious pirate and primary antagonist of the film, Blackbeard, and Penélope Cruz, who plays Angelica, Jack Sparrow's love interest . According to Marshall, McShane was chosen because "he can play something evil but there's always humor behind it as well" and the actor accepted the job due to both the "very funny and charming" script and the opportunity to work with Marshall . The beard took one hour and a half to get applied, and McShane likened the character's costume to "a real biker pirate--it's all black leather ." Marshall said Cruz was the only actress considered for the role, as she fit the description as "an actress who could not only go toe to toe with Johnny and match him, but also needed to be all the things that Jack Sparrow is in a way . She needed to be funny and clever and smart and crafty and beautiful", and invited her for the role as they wrapped the production of Nine . The actress spent two months working out and learning fencing for the role . During filming, Cruz discovered she was pregnant, leading the costume department to redesign her wardrobe to be more elastic, and the producers to hire her sister Mónica Cruz to double for Penélope in risky scenes . Depp recommended Stephen Graham, who worked with him in Public Enemies, to play Scrum, a Machiavellian pirate and sidekick to Jack Sparrow, and Richard Griffiths for the role of King George II, as Depp was a fan of Griffiths' work on Withnail and I. Sam Claflin, a recent drama school graduate with television experience, was chosen to play the missionary Philip, and British actor Paul Bazely also joined the cast . Spanish news website El Pais reported that the film had four Spanish actors: Cruz, Bergès - Frisbey, Óscar Jaenada, and Juan Carlos Vellido . Jaenada was picked for both his work in The Losers and a recommendation by Cruz . </P> <P> Casting for mermaids required the actresses to have natural breasts--no implants . As Bruckheimer explained to EW, "I don't think they had breast augmentation in the 1700s, (...) So it's natural for casting people to say,' We want real people ."' Marshall invited Spanish - French actress Àstrid Bergès - Frisbey to play Syrena after seeing her in a French magazine article on up - and - coming actresses . Bergès - Frisbey had to take lessons of English, swimming and breath control for the role . The rest of the mermaid portrayers, such as Australian supermodel Gemma Ward, were chosen for having "exotic sense, an otherworldly sensibility, but also under those layers a deadly quality", according to Marshall, and had to take swimming lessons to learn movements such as the dolphin and eggbeater kicks . </P> <P> Principal photography began on June 14, 2010, in Hawaii . Filming was moved to California in August 2010, primarily at the Long Beach shore and a recreation of Whitecap Bay done in the Universal Studios backlot, as the original Hawaiian location on Halona Cove was plagued with strong tides . After a brief shoot in Puerto Rico, with locations in both Palomino Island and the Fort of San Cristóbal in San Juan, production moved to the United Kingdom in September, where principal photography wrapped on November 18 after 106 days of shooting . Locations included Hampton Court Palace in London, Knole House in Kent, and Old Royal Naval College at Greenwich . Interiors were shot at London's Pinewood Studios, and a replica of an 18th - century London street was built on the backlot alongside the soundstages . The producers also considered using New Orleans as a location . In October, security was breached at the UK site when a celebrity impersonator gained access to filming at the Old Royal Naval College by dressing up as Captain Jack . </P> <P> After the joint production of Dead Man's Chest and At World's End cost over $300 million, Disney decided to give a lower budget to the fourth installment . Many costs had to be cut, including moving primary production to Hawaii and London, where tax credits are more favorable, and having a shorter shooting schedule and fewer scenes featuring special effects compared to At World's End . The tighter schedule--according to Bruckheimer, "We had a 22 - week post, and for a picture like this, with almost 1,200 visual effects shots, it's usually 40 weeks"--meant that Marshall supervised editing of sequences during filming . The British financial statements of the film revealed total expenditures of £ 240.7 million ($410.6 million) by 2013, with Disney receiving a rebate of $32.1 million from the British government, making Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides the most expensive film ever made to date . </P>

Where was pirates of the carribean on stranger tides filmed