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.

Filmography

• 2026Insidious: Out of the Further — Specs (archive footage), Characters, Producer
• 2025Wolf Man — Dan (voice), Director, Executive Producer, Screenplay
• 2023Insidious: The Red Door — Specs, Characters, Producer, Story
• 2023Saw X — Executive Producer, Characters
• 2021Spiral: From the Book of Saw — Characters, Executive Producer
• 2020The Invisible Man — Story, Director, Executive Producer, Screenplay
• 2018Aquaman — Cargo Pilot
• 2018Home Shopper — Story, Executive Producer
• 2018Insidious: The Last Key — Specs, Writer, Characters, Producer
• 2018Upgrade — Director, Writer, Executive Producer
• 2017Jigsaw — Executive Producer, Characters
• 2017Keep Watching — Matt
• 2017The Bye Bye Man — Larry Redmon
• 2016Knife of the Party — Executive Producer
• 2015Game Changer: The Legacy of Saw — Self, Thanks
• 2015Insidious: Chapter 3 — Specs, Writer, Director, Characters
• 2015Lavalantula — Darren
• 2014Cooties — Doug, Executive Producer, Story, Screenplay
• 2014The Mule — Gavin Ellis, Writer, Executive Producer
• 2013Crush — David
• 2013Insidious: Chapter 2 — Specs, Characters, Screenplay, Story
• Insidious: Spectral Sightings — Specs
• 2013Raze — Elevator Guard
• 2013The Pardon — Clement Moss
• 2012The Debt Collector — Donovan
• 2011Dick Elves — Larry
• 2011Insidious — Specs, Writer
• 2010Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole — Jatt (voice)
• 2010Saw 3D — Adam Stanheight (archive footage) (uncredited), Executive Producer, Characters
• 2009Saw VI — Characters, Executive Producer
• 2009The Last Supper — Phillip, Executive Producer
• 2008Doggie Heaven — Neil, Screenplay
• 2008Dying Breed — Matt
• 2008Saw V — Characters, Executive Producer
• 2007Dead Silence — Writer, Story
• 2007Death Sentence — Spink
• 2007Saw IV — Executive Producer, Characters
• 2006Saw III — Adam, Screenplay, Executive Producer, Story, Characters
• 2006The Scott Tibbs Documentary — Adam Stanheight, Characters, Thanks
• 2005Full Disclosure Report — Adam Faulkner-Stanheight
• 2005Saw II — Adam Stanheight (voice) (uncredited), Executive Producer, Characters, Writer
• 2005Saw: Rebirth — Characters
• 2004One Perfect Day — Chris
• 2004Saw — Adam, Story, Screenplay
• 2003Razor Eaters — Nick D.
• 2003Saw — David, Executive Producer, Writer
• 2003The Matrix Reloaded — Axel
• 2003The Referees — Footy Mate
• 1998Stygian — Clown / Punk Kid
• Blue Heelers — Jared Ryan
• Neighbours — Stuart Maughan
• The Green Hornet and Kato — Director
• The Invisible Man 2 — Characters
• Untitled Saw Film — Producer, Characters

Appearances as themselves (17)

• 2025Legacy of Screams: The Evolution of Horror Movies — Self (archive footage)
• Grave Conversations — Self
• 2020Director’s Journal: Making The Invisible Man — Self
• Eli Roth's History of Horror — Self
• 201778/52 — Self
• The Core — Self
• The Project — Self
• 2008Not Quite Hollywood — Self
• 30 Even Scarier Movie Moments — Self
• 2007Making of Saw III — Self
• 2007The Making of Dead Silence — Self
• 2006Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film — Self (archive footage)
• 2006Gregg Hoffman: In Memoriam — Self
• 2005Hacking Away at 'Saw' — Self
• The Panel — Self
• 2002The PhanDom Menace — Self
• Recovery — Self