Leigh Whannell, born on January 17, 1977, is a screenwriter/actor from Melbourne, Australia. A writer since childhood, Whannell worked as a reporter and film critic for several Australian television shows. 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 Halloween of 2004. Whannell co-wrote the script to – and is serving as an executive producer to – the sequel Saw 2, out in fall 2005. The success filled up Leigh and James' empty bank account.

Leigh and his partner James relocated in LA. Although Leigh hit the jackpot due to the success in the movie Saw, he lives his life as he usually does. He rented a Honda Accord and lives in an apartment. He also still wears his old spider-man watch from a while back. This modest actor/screenwriter is currently working on his latest movie with James Silence You may think of Leigh as a kind of evil and creepy guy but he's totally the opposite. He's a friendly guy who's just creative. Many new things will come from Leigh and James.

Credit: en.wikipedia.org