Honestly, walking into a theater in 2011 felt like being at the center of a massive marketing experiment. You couldn’t turn a corner without seeing Alex Pettyfer’s face. DreamWorks was betting the farm that I Am Number Four would be the next Twilight. It had everything: Michael Bay producing, Steven Spielberg’s fingerprints on the script, and a cast of "it" kids that looked like they walked straight out of an Abercrombie ad.
But then, the movie just... happened. It didn't explode. It didn't die. It just sort of existed, grossing about $150 million worldwide. Not bad, but not "six-film franchise" money.
What’s wild is looking back at the actors in I Am Number Four now. This cast was absolutely stacked with people who were either seconds away from becoming massive stars or were already in the middle of a career-defining run. Some of them flourished. Others found out the hard way that Hollywood’s "next big thing" tag is a heavy crown to wear.
The Leading Man Curse? Alex Pettyfer as John Smith
Alex Pettyfer was 20 when this came out. He was everywhere. He had Beastly coming out at almost the exact same time. Hollywood was trying so hard to make him happen. He plays John Smith—Number Four—the alien refugee with glowing hands and a serious case of teen angst.
Pettyfer was actually pretty open about his hesitations. He reportedly walked out of his first audition because he didn't think he could pull off the "vulnerability" the role needed. Director D.J. Caruso had to coax him back. He did his own stunts, including a backward cliff jump that probably gave his insurance agent a heart attack.
But shortly after the film’s release, his reputation took a hit. The Hollywood Reporter ran a story calling him "difficult." There were rumors of friction on sets. He eventually moved away from the blockbuster machine, doing Magic Mike—where he famously didn't get along with Channing Tatum—and then shifting into indie films and directing. He’s married and divorced German model Toni Garrn since then, and while he’s still working, he never quite hit that Tom Cruise trajectory everyone predicted in 2011.
Dianna Agron and the Glee Peak
If you weren't there, it’s hard to describe how big Glee was in 2011. Dianna Agron was the show's "it girl," playing Quinn Fabray. Casting her as Sarah Hart, the artsy love interest with a Nikon strapped to her neck, was a total "get" for the studio.
Sarah wasn't a complex role. She was the human anchor for John’s alien drama. But Agron brought a certain quietness to it that worked. Off-screen, things were messier; she and Pettyfer dated during filming and broke up right as the movie was hitting theaters.
Since I Am Number Four, Agron has basically curated the coolest career out of the whole bunch. She ditched the teen idol thing almost immediately. She moved to New York, started singing jazz at the Café Carlyle, and starred in high-brow indies like Shiva Baby and Novitiate. She’s one of the few actors from that "YA explosion" era who successfully transitioned into being a respected character actor.
Why Everyone Still Talks About Number Six
If there is one reason people still watch clips of this movie on YouTube, it’s Teresa Palmer.
She shows up halfway through the movie as Number Six, riding a Ducati, blowing things up, and being generally more interesting than everyone else on screen. Palmer went through three months of hellish training—four hours a day, six days a week—to play Six. She learned sword work and wire stunts. During one fight scene, a stuntman accidentally clocked her in the face. She just spit out some blood and kept filming.
That "warrior" energy was supposed to carry the sequel, The Power of Six. We never got it. Palmer didn't wait around, though. She became a staple in the genre, starring in Warm Bodies and the hit series A Discovery of Witches. She’s basically the patron saint of "actors who deserved a sequel."
The Supporting Cast: Where They Went
The fringes of this movie are where the real gems are.
Timothy Olyphant played Henri, John's guardian. He wasn't the first choice; Sharlto Copley was supposed to do it but had to bail for The A-Team press tours. Olyphant brought that Justified grit to a YA movie, which it honestly needed. He treated the role of a "Cepân" like a weary bodyguard rather than a mystical mentor.
Then you have Callan McAuliffe as Sam. He was 16! A kid from Sydney who got picked by Spielberg himself. He spent his time on set running away from green dots on sticks (the Mogadorians). Most people recognize him now as Alden from The Walking Dead, where he spent years surviving a different kind of monster.
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And let’s not forget Kevin Durand. He played the Mogadorian Commander. He’s 6'6" naturally, but they put him in boots that made him 7'5". He was terrified his prosthetic gills would melt off in the Florida heat (it was 119 degrees with humidity during some scenes). He turned a pretty one-note villain into something weirdly playful and creepy.
Why a Sequel Never Happened
People ask this constantly: Where is I Am Number Four 2? The math just didn't work. The movie cost around $60 million to make, plus a massive marketing budget. While $150 million isn't a failure, it didn't signal the "franchise fever" Disney and DreamWorks wanted. They wanted Hunger Games numbers.
By the time they could have pivoted to a sequel, the "YA dystopian" bubble was starting to leak. Plus, the leads had moved on. You can’t really do The Power of Six without Number Four, and by 2013, Alex Pettyfer was doing other things.
What You Should Do Now
If you’re a fan of the world, stop waiting for a movie. The book series by "Pittacus Lore" (a pseudonym for James Frey and Jobie Hughes) actually finished. There are seven main books and a bunch of novellas called The Lost Files.
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- Read the books: The lore goes way deeper into the Great Expansion and the other numbers (Five, Seven, Eight, and Nine).
- Watch for the reboot: There have been recent whispers in 2024 and 2025 about a potential TV series reboot. Given how many YA properties are being revived for streaming, this world is a prime candidate for a "Second Life."
- Follow the cast: Check out Dianna Agron’s recent work in As They Made Us or Teresa Palmer in The Fall Guy to see how much they've evolved since their alien high school days.
The film serves as a weird time capsule of 2011 Hollywood. It was the peak of the "next big thing" machinery, a moment where a group of talented actors were thrown into a sci-fi blender to see what would stick. Even if the franchise stalled, the talent involved certainly didn't.