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James Wan was born in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia to Chinese-Malaysian parents. Unfortunately Wan does not disclose much of his personal life so no one knows who his parents are and what they look like. -
James grew up in western Australia and from an early age of 11, it was his dream to make films.
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When he was 8 years old his family immigrated from Malaysia to Western Australia. From that point he already fallen in love with film. Wan loved the classic "Poltergeist" from Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper. -
James attended West Leederville Primarry school, Willetton Sernior High School, and Lake Tuggeranong College before going moving to study at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
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James studied and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He also met his future business partner Leigh Whannell. -
The youngest photo of James Wan. -
After Graduating James landed his first project with Shannon Young on the film "Stygian." The film won 'Best Guerrilla Film' at Royal Melbourne underground film festival. -
In 2003 Wan would work on a project with the help of Whannell to create a horror film known as "Saw." Whannell wrote the script and with the help of Wan created a short film. the movie became a record-breaking theatrical horror franchise. -
The short film instantly had a straight-to-DVD release. Since the success of the franchise Wan and Whannell served as executive producers for the sequels Saw II- Saw VI with the extra production of Saw 3D.
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Wan decided to broaden his horizons in filmography with other movies, ranging from horror to action. Wan worked on a horror film known as "Dead Silence" and action drama "Death Sentence." Wan is still working on expanding his filmography with other films such as "Mortal Kombat II"
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the final movie in the Saw franchise was released on October 29th, 2010 -
Wan partners with Warner Bros to create the franchise "The Conjuring" -
Wan took on the project of "Furious 7" a movie from the fast and furious franchise. Wan had an interview with The Hollywood Reporter and stated that it was the most challenging movie he has directed. Wan states "I've done technically challenging movies since then, but Furious 7 just hit on so many different levels, especially an emotional one. it was my first big-budget movie. I made The Conjuring for $20 million, and then Furious 7 was hundreds of millions." -
Wan expanded his work by taking on Aquaman. The project ended with a success and became the second film that he directed to reach over 1 billion gross. -
While Wan was not the first Asian director in the industry, he was the first to achieve two films that has a gross over 1 billion each. -
Wan has worked with several studios each producing different films. He worked with Universal Pictures to bring the creation of the franchise "Saw." -
Wan likes to keep his personal life private however he did announce his marriage through Instagram showing him and his wife Ingrid Bisu flaunting engagement rings. -
Wan currently does not have any kids but does in fact have a couple dogs. It is unknown as to how many and their names.
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Throughout Wans film making career he has worked with several companies to make his projects a reality. Atomic Monster a company focused on horror, sci-fi, and comedy films, New Line Pictures was involved in the making of Saw and Insidious franchises. Wan has worked with atomic monster since the starting in 2014. -
Since starting his career James Wan had drastically impacted the horror genera of film starting with Saw. Wans expertise with emotional depth, storytelling and gore has made him one of the most well-known directors in the horror industry
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James Wan - Biography. (n.d.). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1490123/bio/ Davids, B. (2023, June 2). James Wan on Finishing “Aquaman” Sequel, AI Fears and Where “Saw” Came From. The Hollywood Reporter. Wan, J. (2025). James Wan biography, birth date, birthplace and pictures. Browsebiography.com. http://www.browsebiography.com/bio-james_wan.html
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James Wan - Early Life and Education | Early Life Education. (2025). Liquisearch.com. https://www.liquisearch.com/james_wan/early_life_and_education Exclusive biography of #JamesWan and on his life. (2018). FilmiBeat. https://www.filmibeat.com/celebs/james-wan/biography.html Blocked. (2025). Screenrant.com. https://screenrant.com/james-wan-horror-movie-legacy-explained/
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Bishnu. (2023, January 14). Everything About Nate Parker’s Wife Sarah DiSanto And Their Family Life With Kids. James Wan Wife, Partner, Parents, Net Worth; wikibelll. https://wikibelll.com/entertainment/james-wan-married