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 wro...
Known For
Complete Filmography
Insidious: The Bleeding World
2026
Characters, Producer
The sixth installment in the "Insidious" franchise.
Wolf Man
2025
as Dan (voice)
With his marriage fraying, Blake persuades his wife Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit his remote childhood home in rural Oregon. As th...
Wolf Man
2025
Director, Executive Producer, Screenplay
With his marriage fraying, Blake persuades his wife Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit his remote childhood home in rural Oregon. As th...
Saw X
2023
Executive Producer, Characters
Between the events of 'Saw' and 'Saw II', a sick and desperate John Kramer travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes o...
Insidious: The Red Door
2023
as Specs
To put their demons to rest once and for all, Josh Lambert and a college-aged Dalton Lambert must go deeper into The Further than ever before, facing ...
Insidious: The Red Door
2023
Producer, Characters, Story
To put their demons to rest once and for all, Josh Lambert and a college-aged Dalton Lambert must go deeper into The Further than ever before, facing ...
Spiral: From the Book of Saw
2021
Characters, Executive Producer
Working in the shadow of an esteemed police veteran, brash Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks and his rookie partner take charge of a grisly investigation...
Director’s Journal: Making The Invisible Man
2020
as Self
Tracks Leigh Whannell’s directing process on reimagined horror classic The Invisible Man.
The Invisible Man
2020
Story, Director, Executive Producer
When Cecilia's abusive ex takes his own life and leaves her his fortune, she suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of coincidences turn lethal, C...
Aquaman
2018
as Cargo Pilot
Half-human, half-Atlantean Arthur Curry is taken on the journey of his lifetime to discover if he is worth of being a king.
Upgrade
2018
Director, Writer, Executive Producer
A brutal mugging leaves Grey Trace paralyzed in the hospital and his beloved wife dead. A billionaire inventor soon offers Trace a cure — an artificia...
Home Shopper
2018
Story, Executive Producer
In a loveless marriage, Penny finds solace in the hypnotic escape of the home shopping channel. When things take an unexpected turn with her husband, ...
Insidious: The Last Key
2018
as Specs
Parapsychologist Elise Rainier and her team travel to Five Keys, NM, to investigate a man’s claim of a haunting. Terror soon strikes when Rainier real...
Insidious: The Last Key
2018
Writer, Characters, Producer
Parapsychologist Elise Rainier and her team travel to Five Keys, NM, to investigate a man’s claim of a haunting. Terror soon strikes when Rainier real...
Jigsaw
2017
Executive Producer, Characters
Law enforcement finds itself chasing the ghost of a man dead for over a decade, embroiled in a diabolical new game that's only just begun.
78/52
2017
as Self
The most famous murder scene in movie history comprises 78 camera settings and 52 cuts: the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. 78/52 tells the...
Keep Watching
2017
as Matt
A family imprisoned by intruders is forced to play a terrifying game of "Kill, Or Be Killed". As the night unfolds, the game's mysterious rules become...
The Bye Bye Man
2017
as Larry Redmon
When three college students move into an old house off campus, they unwittingly unleash a supernatural entity known as The Bye Bye Man, who comes to p...
Knife of the Party
2016
Executive Producer
Two hapless DJ's are hired for a one-man-dance-party. Things go from awkward to awkwardly terrifying as their host reveals some KILLER dance moves.
Game Changer: The Legacy of Saw
2015
as Self
Generations of movie fans have thrilled to Saw's blood-curdling story of a serial killer who traps his victims in a sadistic game of survival. Game Ch...
Game Changer: The Legacy of Saw
2015
Thanks
Generations of movie fans have thrilled to Saw's blood-curdling story of a serial killer who traps his victims in a sadistic game of survival. Game Ch...
Lavalantula
2015
as Darren
Giant lava breathing tarantulas – Lavalantulas – erupt out of ancient volcanos in the Santa Monica Mountains, raining death and destruction upon Los A...
Insidious: Chapter 3
2015
as Specs
A twisted new tale of terror begins for a teenage girl and her family, and revealing more mysteries of the otherworldly realm, 'The Further'.
Insidious: Chapter 3
2015
Director, Writer, Characters
A twisted new tale of terror begins for a teenage girl and her family, and revealing more mysteries of the otherworldly realm, 'The Further'.
Cooties
2014
as Doug
A mysterious virus hits an isolated elementary school, transforming the kids into a feral swarm of mass savages. An unlikely hero must lead a motley b...
Cooties
2014
Executive Producer, Story, Writer
A mysterious virus hits an isolated elementary school, transforming the kids into a feral swarm of mass savages. An unlikely hero must lead a motley b...
The Mule
2014
as Gavin Ellis
In 1983, a naive man is detained by Australian Federal Police with lethal narcotics hidden in his stomach. After being apprehended, ‘The Mule’ makes a...
The Mule
2014
Writer, Executive Producer
In 1983, a naive man is detained by Australian Federal Police with lethal narcotics hidden in his stomach. After being apprehended, ‘The Mule’ makes a...
Insidious: Chapter 2
2013
as Specs
The haunted Lambert family seeks to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world.
Insidious: Chapter 2
2013
Screenplay, Story, Characters
The haunted Lambert family seeks to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world.
Raze
2013
as Security Guard
After Sabrina is abducted, she finds herself in an underground lair, forced to do battle with other innocent women for the amusement of unseen spectat...
The Pardon
2013
as Clement Moss
Toni Jo tries to break her husband, Cowboy, out of prison and becomes an instant sensation due to her beauty.
Crush
2013
as David
A secret admirer's crush on a high school athlete takes a fatal turn.
The Debt Collector
2012
as Donovan
An unlikely love story between a lonely collections agent and his elderly neighbor.
Dick Elves
2011
as Larry
Two rebellious elves start to bother their colleagues who are just trying to do their job as santa’s helpers
Insidious
2011
as Specs
A family discovers that dark spirits have invaded their home after their son inexplicably falls into an endless sleep. When they reach out to a profes...
Insidious
2011
Writer
A family discovers that dark spirits have invaded their home after their son inexplicably falls into an endless sleep. When they reach out to a profes...
Saw 3D
2010
as Adam Stanheight (archive footage) (uncredited)
As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bo...
Saw 3D
2010
Executive Producer, Characters
As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bo...
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
2010
as Jatt (voice)
When a young owl is abducted by an evil Owl army, he must escape with new-found friends and seek the legendary Guardians to stop the menace.
Saw VI
2009
Characters, Executive Producer
Special Agent Strahm is dead, and Detective Hoffman has emerged as the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw's legacy. However, when the FBI draws closer t...
The Last Supper
2009
as Phillip
Set ten minutes before Jesus arrives at The Last Supper, 13 men at lunch fueled by wine and emotion. Satirising Man's hedonism and greed, 'The Last Su...
The Last Supper
2009
Executive Producer
Set ten minutes before Jesus arrives at The Last Supper, 13 men at lunch fueled by wine and emotion. Satirising Man's hedonism and greed, 'The Last Su...
Doggie Heaven
2008
as Neil
The creative team behind the smash hit "Saw" films, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, tell the story of a young man who is having a dog of a day. Hes just...
Doggie Heaven
2008
Screenplay
The creative team behind the smash hit "Saw" films, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, tell the story of a young man who is having a dog of a day. Hes just...
Saw V
2008
Characters, Executive Producer
Following Jigsaw's grisly demise, Detective Mark Hoffman is commended as a hero, but Agent Strahm is suspicious, and delves into Hoffman's past. Meanw...
Not Quite Hollywood
2008
as Self
As Australian cinema broke through to international audiences in the 1970s through respected art house films like Peter Weir's "Picnic At Hanging Rock...
Dying Breed
2008
as Matt
An extinct species, the Tasmanian tiger. A long-forgotten legend, “The Pieman” aka Alexander Pearce, who was hanged for cannibalism in 1824. Both ha...
Saw IV
2007
Executive Producer, Characters
Despite Jigsaw's death, and in order to save the lives of two of his colleagues, Lieutenant Rigg is forced to take part in a new game, which promises ...
Death Sentence
2007
as Spink
Nick Hume is a mild-mannered executive with a perfect life, until one gruesome night he witnesses something that changes him forever. Transformed by g...
The Making of Dead Silence
2007
as Self
Short documentary on the making of Dead Silence.
Dead Silence
2007
Writer, Story
Jamie returns to his hometown in search of answers to his wife's murder, which occurred after receiving a weird package containing a ventriloquist dum...
Making of Saw III
2007
as Self
Actors and directors of the film "Saw III" talk about the process of making the film.
Saw III
2006
as Adam Stanheight
Jigsaw has disappeared. Along with his new apprentice Amanda, the puppet-master behind the cruel, intricate games that have terrified a community and ...
Saw III
2006
Screenplay, Story, Executive Producer
Jigsaw has disappeared. Along with his new apprentice Amanda, the puppet-master behind the cruel, intricate games that have terrified a community and ...
The Scott Tibbs Documentary
2006
Characters
Scott Tibbs, one of the Saw world's unseen background characters, takes his own unique perspective on the Jigsaw murders in his down-and-dirty documen...
Full Disclosure Report
2005
as Adam Faulkner-Stanheight
A faux documentary set in the world of 'Saw' that sees reporters investigate the mysterious case around Jigsaw. Universe expanding video and extra-fea...
Saw II
2005
as Adam Stanheight (voice) (uncredited)
The chilling and relentless Jigsaw killer returns to terrorize the city once again. When a gruesome murder victim emerges with unmistakable traces of ...
Saw II
2005
Executive Producer, Writer, Characters
The chilling and relentless Jigsaw killer returns to terrorize the city once again. When a gruesome murder victim emerges with unmistakable traces of ...
Saw: Rebirth
2005
Characters
This animated comic goes back in time to explore the events that spurred the transformation of mild-mannered John Kramer into the monstrous Jigsaw.
Hacking Away at Saw
2005
as Self
Cary Elwes (Dr Gordon), writer/actor Leigh Whannell, director James Wan, Tobin Bell (Jigsaw) and the producers give insights on how Saw (2004) came to...
Saw
2004
as Adam Faulkner-Stanheight
Two men wake up to find themselves shackled in a grimy, abandoned bathroom. As they struggle to comprehend their predicament, they discover a disturbi...
Saw
2004
Story, Screenplay
Two men wake up to find themselves shackled in a grimy, abandoned bathroom. As they struggle to comprehend their predicament, they discover a disturbi...
One Perfect Day
2004
as Chris
Tommy Matisse, a gifted musician, undertakes an odyssey of self-discovery and tragedy in Melbourne's dance music scene.
Saw
2003
as David
David, an orderly at a hospital, tells his horrific story of being kidnapped and forced to play a vile game of survival.
Saw
2003
Executive Producer, Writer
David, an orderly at a hospital, tells his horrific story of being kidnapped and forced to play a vile game of survival.
Razor Eaters
2003
as Nick D.
The front row ticket to an anarchistic rampage of death and destruction. First turned on during a home invasion, the gang's video camera never lets up...
The Matrix Reloaded
2003
as Axel
Six months after the events depicted in The Matrix, Neo has proved to be a good omen for the free humans, as more and more humans are being freed from...
The Referees
2003
as Footy Mate
Nick has a one stand with a certain Adele Del Monica. To gather if she would make a good girlfriend, he checks up with her three recent boyfriends: Ro...
The PhanDom Menace
2002
as Self
The PhanDom Menace presents the definitive look at the most devoted fans on the planet. Follow the lives of Australia's most passionate Star Wars fans...
Stygian
1998
as Clown / Punk Kid
A young couple find themselves trapped in a parallel dimension known as Exile, a world populated with killer clowns, mad scientists, marauding zombies...
The Green Hornet and Kato
N/A
Director
A newspaper publisher teams up with a martial arts expert to fight crime. A reboot based on the 1960 TV series.
Saw XI
N/A
Characters, Executive Producer
Eleventh installment in the 'Saw' franchise. Plot TBA.
Untitled Saw Film
N/A
Characters, Producer
Plot TBA.