Leigh Whannell profile photo

Leigh Whannell

Writing
48 years oldMelbourne, Australia

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.

Personal Details

Born
January 17, 1977
Gender
Male
Place of Birth
Melbourne, Australia
Known For
Writing

Movies (49)

Insidious: The Bleeding World

Insidious: The Bleeding World

Characters (Writing)

2026

Wolf Man
6.2

Wolf Man

as Dan (voice)

2025

Saw X
7.2

Saw X

Executive Producer (Production)

2023

Insidious: The Red Door
6.5

Insidious: The Red Door

as Specs

2023

Spiral: From the Book of Saw
5.9

Spiral: From the Book of Saw

Characters (Writing)

2021

Director’s Journal: Making The Invisible Man

Director’s Journal: Making The Invisible Man

as Self

2020

The Invisible Man
7.1

The Invisible Man

Story (Writing)

2020

Aquaman
6.9

Aquaman

as Cargo Pilot

2018

Upgrade
7.5

Upgrade

Director (Directing)

2018

Home Shopper
8.4

Home Shopper

Story (Writing)

2018

Insidious: The Last Key
6.3

Insidious: The Last Key

as Specs

2018

Jigsaw
6.2

Jigsaw

Executive Producer (Production)

2017

78/52
7.2

78/52

as Self

2017

Keep Watching
5.0

Keep Watching

as Matt

2017

The Bye Bye Man
5.2

The Bye Bye Man

as Larry Redmon

2017

Knife of the Party

Knife of the Party

Executive Producer (Production)

2016

Game Changer: The Legacy of Saw
7.0

Game Changer: The Legacy of Saw

as Self

2015

Lavalantula
4.9

Lavalantula

as Darren

2015

Insidious: Chapter 3
6.3

Insidious: Chapter 3

as Specs

2015

Cooties
5.9

Cooties

as Doug

2014

The Mule
6.3

The Mule

as Gavin Ellis

2014

Insidious: Chapter 2
6.7

Insidious: Chapter 2

as Specs

2013

Raze
5.1

Raze

as Security Guard

2013

The Pardon
4.4

The Pardon

as Clement Moss

2013

Crush
6.0

Crush

as David

2013

The Debt Collector
6.0

The Debt Collector

as Donovan

2012

Dick Elves
6.0

Dick Elves

as Larry

2011

Insidious
6.9

Insidious

as Specs

2011

Saw 3D
6.0

Saw 3D

as Adam Stanheight (archive footage) (uncredited)

2010

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
6.8

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

as Jatt (voice)

2010

Saw VI
6.3

Saw VI

Characters (Writing)

2009

The Last Supper
1.0

The Last Supper

as Phillip

2009

Doggie Heaven
5.5

Doggie Heaven

as Neil

2008

Saw V
6.2

Saw V

Characters (Writing)

2008

Not Quite Hollywood
6.8

Not Quite Hollywood

as Self

2008

Dying Breed
5.1

Dying Breed

as Matt

2008

Saw IV
6.2

Saw IV

Executive Producer (Production)

2007

Death Sentence
6.8

Death Sentence

as Spink

2007

The Making of Dead Silence
5.7

The Making of Dead Silence

as Self

2007

Dead Silence
6.4

Dead Silence

Writer (Writing)

2007

Making of Saw III

Making of Saw III

as Self

2007

Saw III
6.4

Saw III

as Adam Stanheight

2006

The Scott Tibbs Documentary
4.0

The Scott Tibbs Documentary

Characters (Writing)

2006

Full Disclosure Report
4.0

Full Disclosure Report

as Adam Faulkner-Stanheight

2005

Saw II
6.6

Saw II

as Adam Stanheight (voice) (uncredited)

2005

Saw: Rebirth
5.4

Saw: Rebirth

Characters (Writing)

2005

Hacking Away at Saw
6.0

Hacking Away at Saw

as Self

2005

Saw
7.4

Saw

as Adam Faulkner-Stanheight

2004

One Perfect Day
5.1

One Perfect Day

as Chris

2004

TV Shows (1)