Leigh Whannell

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Leigh Whannell is an Australian filmmaker and actor, born on January 17, 1977 in Melbourne. He is best known for co-creating the Saw horror franchise with James Wan and for directing and writing several major films.

Key points:
- Saw creator and main writer: wrote Saw (2004), co-wrote Saw II and Saw III, produced all Saw films, and played the character Adam in three installments. He also wrote the Saw video game (2009).
- Other collaborations with Wan: contributed to Dead Silence (2007) and wrote Insidious (2010).
- Directing career: made his directing debut with Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015); directed Upgrade (2018); directed and co-wrote The Invisible Man (2020), which was a critical and commercial success (about $7 million budget, around $145 million gross). Wolf Man (2025) was written with his wife Corbett Tuck.
- Other work: acted in Dying Breed (2008); co-wrote Cooties (2014). Had a small role in Saw III, and appeared in The Matrix Reloaded (2003) as a minor actor; contributed to the Enter the Matrix video game as the character Axel.
- Personal and career notes: Whannell has spoken about his past health struggles with anxiety, which influenced his portrayal of Jigsaw’s cancer in Saw. He spent time in hospital, which shaped some of his work.
- Current projects and future plans: developing a reboot of Escape from New York; working on a sequel series to Upgrade; in 2022 he was in talks to direct The Green Hornet and Kato reboot. The Invisible Man’s success sparked continued interest in related projects, including Wolf Man.