Famed Saw filmmaker Leigh Whannell has revealed that late Aussie actor Heath Ledger helped inspire a crucial detail in his new movie, Wolf Man. Ledger tragically died of an accidental drug overdose in his New York apartment aged 28 in 2008. Whannel, 48, said that when it came to creating a 'look' for the creature in his reboot of the horror classic, he was influenced by Ledger's appearance as the Joker in The Dark Knight.
![[Whannel told the Herald Sun last week that when it came to creating a 'look' for the creature in his reboot of the horror classic, he was influenced by Ledger's Joker. Pictured: In Whannell's gruesome new film, the character played by Christopher Abbott, who becomes a 'wolfman', has two large discoloured marks on both sides of his face.]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/23/23/94455379-14319173-Whannel_told_the_Herald_Sun_last_week_that_when_it_came_to_creat-a-4_1737674863349.jpg)
In an interview with the Herald Sun, the Melbourne-born Los Angeles-based writer and director said he co-wrote his Wolf Man pic with his American wife, Corbett Tuck. He based part of his version of the Wolf Man on his personal experience with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - a fatal disease that impacts cells in the spine and brain.
![[Ledger tragically died of an accidental drug overdose in his New York apartment aged 28 in 2008. (Pictured)]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/23/23/94454153-14319173-Ledger_tragically_died_of_an_accidental_drug_overdose_in_his_New-a-3_1737674863348.jpg)
Whannell explained that he had watched a friend struggle with the terrible affliction, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Famed Saw filmmaker Leigh Whannell has revealed that the late Australian actor Heath Ledger helped to inspire a crucial detail in his new Wolf Man movie. Pictured: Ledger as thw Joker in the 2008 Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight.
![[Whannell and his one-time filmmaking partner James Wan rose to fame after their $1million film 2004 Saw became a blockbuster. Pictured: Whannell at the Sydney premiere of Wolf Man]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/23/23/94457179-14319173-Whannell_and_his_one_time_filmmaking_partner_James_Wan_rose_to_f-a-5_1737674863349.jpg)
Whannel told the Herald Sun last week that when it came to creating a 'look' for the creature in his reboot of the horror classic, he was influenced by Ledger's Joker. Pictured: In Whannell's gruesome new film, the character played by Christopher Abbott, who becomes a 'wolfman', has two large discoloured marks on both sides of his face.
