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IMDbPro

Leigh Whannell

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,0001543
Leigh Whannell
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:31
The Mule (2018)
21 Videos
48 Photos
Leigh Whannell grew up in Melbourne, Australia, where, at the age of four, he developed an obsession with telling stories. Whether it be through acting, writing or filmmaking, his primary love was getting a reaction from an audience. In 1995, at the age of 18, he was accepted into the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology's prestigious Media Arts course, where he met fellow filmmaker James Wan. In his second year of college, he landed the role of "film guy" on a Saturday morning TV show aimed at teens called Recovery (1996). Filmed totally live in the studio and hosted by actual teenagers, the ground-breaking show was hugely popular down under and was the first to bring "alternative culture" to Australia's TV screens, featuring live performances from bands like Sonic Youth, Weezer, Public Enemy, Ben Harper, Pulp and hundreds more. Hosting the film component of the show, Leigh was lucky enough to interview people like Tim Burton, Peter Jackson, Russell Crowe, George Clooney, and eventually went on the host the show in 1999. After graduating from college, Leigh found himself working more and more as a "host" or "presenter" on Australian TV - all the while hatching a plan with James Wan to finally fulfill his dream of making a film. Small acting roles cropped up from time to time (including one in The Matrix Reloaded (2003), which Leigh has said was "the most fun I've ever had in my life") and, along with those, some frustrating near-misses (and not so near-misses: like his cringe-inducing audition for "Lord Of The Rings", in which he paid $90 to have "hobbit ears" grafted onto his head, turning up at the casting office dressed as a hobbit - needless to say he didn't get the role). However, it was missing out on a role in Alex Proyas Australian film Garage Days (2002) that finally broke the camel's back. He called Wan and told him that if they wanted to get a film made, they would have to pay for it themselves. Saw (2004) was born. After nine months of writing, Leigh had written the screenplay for what he thought would be a self-financed, "Blair Witch"-style feature, with him starring and James directing. The script gained so much attention that soon enough, they were shopping it around Hollywood....and the rest is history.
BornJanuary 17, 1977
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BornJanuary 17, 1977
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,0001543
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  • Awards

Photos48

Angus Sampson and Leigh Whannell in Insidious: The Last Key (2018)
Leigh Whannell in The Bye Bye Man (2017)
Elijah Wood, Alison Pill, and Leigh Whannell in Cooties (2014)
Elijah Wood, Alison Pill, Rainn Wilson, Leigh Whannell, Jack McBrayer, Nasim Pedrad, and Morgan Lily in Cooties (2014)
Leigh Whannell in Cooties (2014)
Jaime King and Leigh Whannell in The Pardon (2013)
Elijah Wood, Alison Pill, Rainn Wilson, Leigh Whannell, Jack McBrayer, and Nasim Pedrad in Cooties (2014)
Elijah Wood, Alison Pill, and Leigh Whannell in Cooties (2014)
Leigh Whannell and Stefanie Scott in Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)
Dermot Mulroney and Leigh Whannell in Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)
Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, and Stefanie Scott in Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)
Dermot Mulroney, Angus Sampson, and Leigh Whannell in Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)

Known for

Saw (2004)
Saw
7.6
  • Adam
  • 2004
Elijah Wood, Jorge Garcia, Alison Pill, Rainn Wilson, Leigh Whannell, Jack McBrayer, and Nasim Pedrad in Cooties (2014)
Cooties
5.7
  • Doug
  • 2014
Elisabeth Moss and Oliver Jackson-Cohen in The Invisible Man (2020)
The Invisible Man
7.1
  • Writer
  • 2020
Logan Marshall-Green in Upgrade (2018)
Upgrade
7.5
  • Writer
  • 2018

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Jason Momoa and Amber Heard in Aquaman (2018)
    Aquaman
  • Insidious: The Last Key - Dive Into The Insidious Universe (2018)
    Insidious: The Last Key - Dive Into The Insidious Universe
  • Insidious: The Last Key (2018)
    Insidious: The Last Key
  • Keep Watching (2017)
    Keep Watching
  • Doug Jones in The Bye Bye Man (2017)
    The Bye Bye Man
  • Lavalantula (2015)
    Lavalantula
  • Stefanie Scott in Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)
    Insidious: Chapter 3
  • John Noble, Angus Sampson, Hugo Weaving, Leigh Whannell, Ewen Leslie, and Georgina Haig in The Mule (2014)
    The Mule
  • Elijah Wood, Jorge Garcia, Alison Pill, Rainn Wilson, Leigh Whannell, Jack McBrayer, and Nasim Pedrad in Cooties (2014)
    Cooties
  • Angus Sampson and Leigh Whannell in Insidious: Spectral Sightings (2013)
    Insidious: Spectral Sightings
  • Rose Byrne in Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
    Insidious: Chapter 2
  • Rachel Nichols, Zoë Bell, and Tracie Thoms in Raze (2013)
    Raze
  • M.C. Gainey, Tim Guinee, John Hawkes, Jaime King, Jason Lewis, T.J. Thyne, and Leigh Whannell in The Pardon (2013)
    The Pardon
  • Lucas Till and Caitríona Balfe in Crush (2013)
    Crush
  • Dick Elves

Writer

  • Insidious 5
    • Post-production
  • Upgrade
    • Pre-production
  • He Helped Me: A Fan Film from the Book of Saw (2021)
    He Helped Me: A Fan Film from the Book of Saw
  • Elisabeth Moss and Oliver Jackson-Cohen in The Invisible Man (2020)
    The Invisible Man
  • Javier Botet and Ava Kolker in Insidious: The Last Key - Alternate Ending (2018)
    Insidious: The Last Key - Alternate Ending
  • Logan Marshall-Green in Upgrade (2018)
    Upgrade
  • Home Shopper (2018)
    Home Shopper
  • Insidious: The Last Key (2018)
    Insidious: The Last Key
  • Saw: Heritage - Unauthorized Fan Film (2016)
    Saw: Heritage - Unauthorized Fan Film
  • Stefanie Scott in Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)
    Insidious: Chapter 3
  • John Noble, Angus Sampson, Hugo Weaving, Leigh Whannell, Ewen Leslie, and Georgina Haig in The Mule (2014)
    The Mule
  • Elijah Wood, Jorge Garcia, Alison Pill, Rainn Wilson, Leigh Whannell, Jack McBrayer, and Nasim Pedrad in Cooties (2014)
    Cooties
  • Rose Byrne in Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
    Insidious: Chapter 2
  • Ty Simpkins in Insidious (2010)
    Insidious
  • Saw (2009)
    Saw
  • Leigh Whannell in Doggie Heaven (2008)
    Doggie Heaven
  • Enn Reitel in Dead Silence (2007)
    Dead Silence

Producer

  • Insidious 5
    • Post-production
  • Upgrade
    • Pre-production
  • Chris Rock in Spiral (2021)
    Spiral
  • Elisabeth Moss and Oliver Jackson-Cohen in The Invisible Man (2020)
    The Invisible Man
  • Logan Marshall-Green in Upgrade (2018)
    Upgrade
  • Home Shopper (2018)
    Home Shopper
  • Insidious: The Last Key (2018)
    Insidious: The Last Key
  • Tobin Bell in Jigsaw (2017)
    Jigsaw
  • Knife of the Party
  • John Noble, Angus Sampson, Hugo Weaving, Leigh Whannell, Ewen Leslie, and Georgina Haig in The Mule (2014)
    The Mule
  • Elijah Wood, Jorge Garcia, Alison Pill, Rainn Wilson, Leigh Whannell, Jack McBrayer, and Nasim Pedrad in Cooties (2014)
    Cooties
  • Saw 3D (2010)
    Saw 3D
  • Saw VI (2009)
    Saw VI
  • who will pay for their sins?
    The Last Supper
  • Saw V (2008)
    Saw V
  • Saw IV (2007)
    Saw IV
  • Dina Meyer, David A. Armstrong, Angus Macfadyen, Donnie Wahlberg, Tobin Bell, Lyriq Bent, Shauna Black, Timothy Burd, Mark Burg, Mike Butters, Charlie Clouser, Darrell Dennis, Barry Flatman, Kevin Greutert, Paul Gutrecht, David Hackl, Zoe Heath, Kelly Jones, Sandy Kellerman, Oren Koules, J. LaRose, Jane Luk, Costas Mandylor, Christopher Marren, Brian Paul, Mark Poyser, Kim Roberts, Betsy Russell, Shawnee Smith, Sean Sullivan, Dylan Trowbridge, Alan Van Sprang, Larry Yachimec, Billy Parrott, Bill Vibert, Darren Lynn Bousman, Leigh Whannell, Debra McCabe, James Wan, Niamh Wilson, Bahar Soomekh, Vincent Rother, Dan Sudek, and Stefan Georgiou in Saw III (2006)
    Saw III

Videos21

'The Invisible Man' Almost Disappeared Before Materializing on Top
Clip 3:29
'The Invisible Man' Almost Disappeared Before Materializing on Top
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:41
Official Trailer
International Trailer
Trailer 2:11
International Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:37
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:15
Official Trailer
Trailer #1
Trailer 2:10
Trailer #1
10th Anniversary Trailer
Trailer 1:07
10th Anniversary Trailer
Insidious - Teaser Trailer
Trailer 0:32
Insidious - Teaser Trailer
Insidious
Trailer 1:51
Insidious
Dying Breed
Trailer 1:53
Dying Breed
The Mule
Trailer 2:31
The Mule
The Mule
Trailer 2:26
The Mule

Personal details

Edit
    • Official Blog
    • January 17, 1977
    • Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
    • Corbett TuckOctober 10, 2009 - present (3 children)
    • Sabine Whannell

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    To help sell his concept for the jigsaw killer thriller Saw (2004), he shot a scene in which he appears to be ensnared in a bear trap. There were no special effects involved; he actually had to place the teeth of the rusty bear trap in his mouth to make it seem real.
  • Quotes
    I wouldn't say that was entirely non-deliberate. I do think men can be especially selfish, very focused on what they're doing. Women often the mother character in the film cares for the child more than she cares for herself, and just from my own point of view, I felt that the men in the film are more the type of people Jigsaw would have a major problem with. [on stereotypical roles for men and women in films and how it applied to his 'Saw']
    • Often works with James Wan

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