Leigh Whannell (born January 17, 1977) is an Australian screenwriter, producer, and actor, perhaps most known for his work on the Saw film series.

Biography

Whannell was born in Melbourne and attended Scoresby Primary School and Brandon Park Secondary College. A writer since childhood, Whannell worked as a reporter and film critic for several Australian television shows, including ABC's Recovery hosted by Dylan Lewis. He also had a minor role in The Matrix Reloaded, as well as the video game Enter The Matrix as the character Axel.

While in film school, he met James Wan, who would eventually go on to direct the horror film Saw (co-written by Wan and Whannell) in 2004. After making a short film to showcase the intensity of the script, the film was made and became a low-budget sleeper hit in late 2004. Whannell played Adam in the film, one of the main characters. The popularity of Saw led to a sequel, Saw II, which was directed and co-written by Darren Lynn Bousman, and on which Whannell co-wrote and revised Bousman's original script, titled The Desperate. Whannell also served as an executive producer.