MANILA, Philippines - Fresh from being the object of Jay Baruchel’s affection in the hit film The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Teresa Palmer now stars as the mysterious teen known only as Number Six in DreamWorks Pictures’ new sci-fi thriller I Am Number Four.
From the director of the No. 1 box-office hit Eagle Eye and the producer of the blockbuster Transformers series, I Am Number Four is a suspense-filled action adventure featuring relatable, engaging characters grounded in the familiar realm of high school but caught up in a deadly manhunt.
Director D.J. Caruso was looking for someone very special to play the role of Number Six. She needed to be able to take on the intense stunt work that was required of the character. After a long search, he found Teresa. “Number Six is a really powerful, dark, mysterious character,” says Caruso. “Teresa embodies the sexy confidence that was required to pull off the role. She has an infectious energy that blew me away when she read for me.”
Palmer says of her character, “Six is equally as intimidating as she is enchanting, which makes her a force to be reckoned with. She is used to surviving on her own, making her a very enigmatic and mysterious character. Six has fighting skills; her precision and timing of blows is brutal and cunning, which makes her an incredible asset in battle.”
Palmer notes that Number Six is a complex character to play. “She’s been preparing herself for battle her whole life and is incredibly skilled in martial arts and sword-fighting, but she’s quirky in an introverted way. It’s a very exciting role and really different from anything I have ever done before,” Palmer says.
“I auditioned in my natural Australian accent,” recalls Palmer. “I think they were a bit skeptical about it at first, but after we talked about it, it seemed to make sense. All nine, special children wouldn’t have been dropped in America; it would have been too dangerous. It was a much more interesting idea to have them land in different countries and have different accents.”
Palmer was very happy with her character’s look. “As soon as I read the script I had such a clear idea of who she was and what she was going to look like,” recalls Palmer. “Luckily, everyone else was totally on the same page. She is just such a bad-ass chick. She wears low-slung, tight black jeans with a big belt and a chain dangling down. I wanted her to have a tattoo that was easily visible and a skeleton ring. She is definitely out there.”
Aside from the drama of the relationships, the making of I Am Number Four required many different types of action sequences based on the needs of the characters in the story. Palmer had the majority of the stunt work to do in the movie. She began training about two months before shooting commenced in Pittsburgh. Explains Palmer: “I didn’t want to do Six the disservice of not knowing how to fight, so I worked with Peng Zhang, a talented fight coordinator who specializes in martial arts. We worked extensively for a few months, concentrating on kicking form — side kicks, back kicks, front kicks — and then putting that together with sword work to create the fierce action. I also worked hand-in-hand with the stunt team led by action coordinator Brad Allan, who trained me to be able to work like one of them. Our goal was to turn me into this character, not to fake it.”
I Am Number Four is still showing in theaters and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.