Maher Ahmad

While most theater kids dream of being in the spotlight, Maher Ahmad was perfectly content hanging out in the background, working on the stage crew at the community theater all throughout high school before attending Northwestern University to get his Masters in lighting design. After working as a professional set designer in the Chicago area for a few years, Maher got his big break when he was hired to be the art director for 1983's "Bad Boys," a dark drama featuring Sean Penn about troubled urban youth. He continued to work as an art director on various projects over the years, including on the Arnold Schwarzenegger action film "Raw Deal" and the Oscar-winning movie "Goodfellas." But in 1985, director Andrew Davis hired him to work as a production designer on the Chuck Norris action film "Code of Silence," and it was the beginning of a long partnership that lasted for seven more movies, including Steven Seagal's "Above the Law" and the family film "Holes." Since the pair parted ways, Maher has begun a new partnership with director Ruben Fleischer, first working with him on the well-received horror comedy "Zombieland," and going on to join the crew of his next two projects.