Leigh Whannell

Leigh Whannell hails from Melbourne, Australia, where he began his career as an actor appearing in Australian series such as “Neighbours” and “Blue Heelers” and as a presenter on the cult hit TV series “Recovery,” which he later went on to host in its last two seasons. As a film critic on “Recovery,” Whannell interviewed such people as George Clooney, Jackie Chan and Tim Burton. While studying film at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Whannell met filmmaker James Wan, where they started developing ideas together, including the 2004 Lionsgate release SAW, which Whannell wrote and starred in. In addition to his work on the screenplay for SAW II, Whannell wrote and starred in SAW III and is an Executive Producer on the SAW franchise and a creative consultant on the SAW video game.

Whannell’s other writing credits include the Universal release DEAD SILENCE. Whannell’s acting credits include the Warner Brothers release MATRIX RELOADED, the Fox release DEATH SENTENCE, the independent feature THE PARDON starring Jaime King, the Australian feature DYING BREED which premiered at Tribeca, a character voice in Warner Brothers’ upcoming release LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS, and INSIDIOUS which premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.

Whannell wrote the screenplay and stars in the picture with James Wan once again directing. Whannell received the Greg Tepper Award in 2004, a prestigious award for outstanding achievement in Film.

Serendipity Productions