Wynn Thomas

Wynn Thomas is an American film production designer. Thomas is particularly associated with the films of Spike Lee. Thomas has been described as the first African-American production designer in motion pictures.

Biography

Wynn Thomas studied for an MFA in Theater Design at Boston University. He spent many years working in theater before working alongside Richard Sylbert on The Cotton Club for director Francis Ford Coppola. Thomas designed theater sets for the Negro Ensemble Company, Arena Stage of Washington, D.C., the Great Lakes Shakespeare Company, and Joe Papp's Public Theatre. He was the recipient of an Academy Honorary Award at the 16th Annual Governors Awards in 2025. Thomas has designed the sets for 11 films by Spike Lee. He has also worked with the directors Tim Burton, Robert Townsend, Robert De Niro, and Ron Howard.

Legacy

Thomas's films were shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York from June-July 2021 as part of a retrospective of his work.
MOMA praised his work as encompassing the "campy, candy-colored sci-fi sets" of Mars Attacks! to the "clubs, pron, and homes" of Malcolm X in his meticulous crafting of reality "for characters to inhabit in any era".