Leigh Whannell Bio
LEIGH WHANNELL
Date of Birth: January 17, 1977
Born in Melbourne, Australia, Leigh Whannell met James Wan when they were Media Arts/Filmmaking students at the Melbourne Institute of Technology. They became the best of friends and hoped one day to make a film together. In the meantime, Whannell landed an on air job as a movie reviewer from 1997 to 1998 on the Australian Broadcasting Network series Recovery, then as a reporter for ABC's show In Entertainment. His duties included interviewing Hollywood stars and directors who were promoting their films. Although he'd managed to land small roles in The Matrix Reloaded and the Aussie film One Perfect Day (both filmed in 2002), talking to A-list celebrities reinforced Leigh's desire to star in a film, so he and James got together and came up with a story, then Leigh wrote the screenplay.
The script made the rounds in Australia, but they weren't able to find financial backing, so their manager sent it to a literary agent in America. Wan directed an eight-minute sample short on DVD to take to Los Angeles to show potential backers. Producers at the US film company Evolution were impressed by what they saw. They liked Wan's directorial style and Whannell's acting, and agreed to keep them on, rather than replacing them with big name talent. Evolution then signed Cary Elwes and Danny Glover for the other lead roles in the movie, called Saw (2004). The film premiered at Sundance, then was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival before receiving a wide North American release in October 2004. It was such a big hit at the box office, that several sequels were made.
In the years since Saw, Whannell has acted in a slew of films, including the threequel Saw III (2006), the horror Insidious (2010) and its follow ups Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) and Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015). Most recently, he starred alongside Bella Thorne in the horror thriller Keep Watching (2016).
Leigh married Corbett Tuck in 2009 and in March 2013, they welcomed a baby daughter, Sabine Silver, into their lives.
Filmography:
Keep Watching (2016)Cooties (2015)
Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)
The Pardon (2008)
Death Sentence (2007)
Saw III (2006)
Saw II (2005)
Saw (2004)
One Perfect Day (2004)
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)