Leigh Whannell

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Leigh Whannell
Born January 17, 1977

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

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[edit] Biography

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.

Around the same time, Whannell got back with James Wan and they wrote a film called Silence, which Wan directed. It was slated for a 2006 release, but small problems with the title have pushed the release date back to March 2007, when it will be released as Dead Silence. In 2006, Whannell and Wan, wrote the story for Saw III, with Whannell writing the screenplay for the third time. It was again directed by Bousman and was released on the October 27, 2006. Whannell has a featured cameo, reprising his role as Adam. Saw III was a huge financial success and raked in $33,610,391 on its opening weekend, making around $129,927,001 worldwide (after 38 days in cinemas) and is currently the most successful Saw film to date.

Whannell's writing partner, Wan, was chosen to direct the film Death Sentence, the first feature film with their participation that they did not write themselves. Whannell has a small role as "Spink" in Death Sentence.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Actor:

He acted as a radioactive researcher in Godzilla

[edit] Writer:

[edit] Producer:

[edit] Trivia

  • Whannell attended Scoresby Primary School.

[edit] External links

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