Personal Info
Known For:
Writing
Birthday:
January 17, 1977
Place of Birth:
Melbourne, Australia
Social Media
Leigh Whannell
Biography
Leigh Whannell (/ˈli ˈwɑːnɛl/; born 17 January 1977) is an Australian filmmaker and actor. He has written multiple films that were directed by his friend James Wan, including Saw (2004), Dead Silence (2007), Insidious (2010), and Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013). Whannell made his directorial debut with Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015) and has since directed three more films, Upgrade (2018), The Invisible Man (2020) and Wolf Man (2025).
Whannell and Wan are the creators of the Saw franchise. Whannell wrote the first installment, co-wrote the second and third installments, was the producer or executive producer for all the films, and appeared as the Adam Stanheight character in three of the installments. He was also the writer of the Saw video game (2009) and co-writer of the film Cooties (2014).
Description above from the Wikipedia article Leigh Whannell, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Wolf Man | Dan (voice) |
| 2023 | Insidious: The Red Door | Specs |
| 2020 | Director’s Journal: Making The Invisible Man | Self |
| 2018 | Insidious: The Last Key | Specs |
| 2018 | Aquaman | Cargo Pilot |
| 2017 | 78/52 | Self |
| 2017 | Keep Watching | Matt |
| 2017 | The Bye Bye Man | Larry Redmon |
| 2015 | Insidious: Chapter 3 | Specs |
| 2015 | Lavalantula | Darren |
| 2015 | Game Changer: The Legacy of Saw | Self |
| 2014 | Cooties | Doug |
| 2014 | The Mule | Gavin Ellis |
| 2013 | Insidious: Chapter 2 | Specs |
| 2013 | The Pardon | Clement Moss |
| 2013 | Crush | David |
| 2013 | Raze | Security Guard |
| 2012 | The Debt Collector | Donovan |
| 2011 | Insidious | Specs |
| 2011 | Dick Elves | Larry |
| 2010 | Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole | Jatt (voice) |
| 2010 | Saw 3D | Adam Stanheight (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 2009 | The Last Supper | Phillip |
| 2008 | Dying Breed | Matt |
| 2008 | Doggie Heaven | Neil |
| 2008 | Not Quite Hollywood | Self |
| 2007 | The Making of Dead Silence | Self |
| 2007 | Making of Saw III | |
| 2007 | Death Sentence | Spink |
| 2006 | Saw III | Adam Stanheight |
| 2005 | Full Disclosure Report | Adam Faulkner-Stanheight |
| 2005 | Hacking Away at Saw | Self |
| 2005 | Saw II | Adam Stanheight (voice) (uncredited) |
| 2004 | Saw | Adam Faulkner-Stanheight |
| 2004 | One Perfect Day | Chris |
| 2003 | The Matrix Reloaded | Axel |
| 2003 | Saw | David |
| 2003 | Razor Eaters | Nick D. |
| 2003 | The Referees | Footy Mate |
| 2002 | The PhanDom Menace | Himself |
| 1998 | Stygian | Clown / Punk Kid |
| TrollFace | Guy (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 30 Even Scarier Movie Moments | Himself |
| 1996 | Recovery | |
| 1993 | Blue Heelers | Jared Ryan |