William Atherton

ActorProduction Jul 30 (age 78) Orange, Connecticut, USA 1972–2025 (53 year career)

6.1 avg rating

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia William Atherton Knight (born July 30, 1947) is an American actor, best known for portraying Richard Thornburg in Die Hard and its sequel and Walter Peck in Ghostbusters.

Known For

Film

Die Hard

Richard Thornburg

Film

Ghostbusters

Walter Peck

Film

The Last Samurai

Winchester Rep

Film

Die Hard 2

Richard Thornberg

Film

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Mayor Walter Peck

Film

The Pelican Brief

Bob Gminski

Film

The Girl Next Door

Adult David Moran

Film

Real Genius

Professor Hathaway

Filmography

Acting (90)

Movies (64)

Where Did the Adults Go?

2025

as The Father

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

2024

as Mayor Walter Peck

6.5

Cleanin' Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters

as Self

Bad Company

Clinical

as Terry Drummond

Ghostheads

as Self

Jinn

as Father Westhoff

Jersey Shore Shark Attack

as Dolan

The Citizen

Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie

2012

as Earle Swinter

5.5

The Kane Files: Life of Trial

as Daniel Morgan

Black Crescent Moon

as Jo Dexton

Ghouls

as Stefan

Aces 'N' Eights

as Howard

The Girl Next Door

as Adult David Moran

Kush

as King

Towards Darkness

as John

Headspace

as Dr. Ira Gold

Into the Sun

as Agent Block

Gone But Not Forgotten

as Sen. Ray Colby

Who's Your Daddy?

as Duncan Mack

The Last Samurai

as Winchester Rep

Race to Space

as Ralph Stanton

Burning Down the House

as Arthur Kranston

The Crow: Salvation

as Nathan Randall

Bread and Roses

as Party Guest (uncredited)

6.3

Introducing Dorothy Dandridge

as Darryl Zanuck

The Stranger

Michael Kael vs. the World News Company

as James Denit

Hoodlum

as Thomas E. Dewey

Mad City

as Dohlen

Executive Power

as President Fields

Bio-Dome

as Dr. Noah Faulkner

Raven Hawk

as Philip Thorne

A Night to Die For

as Self

Virus

1995

as Dr. Reginald Holloway

Broken Trust

as Neil Roemer

Frank & Jesse

as Allan Pinkerton

Saints and Sinners

as Terence

The Pelican Brief

as Bob Gminski

Diagnosis Murder: Diagnosis of Murder

as Eric Walker

Chrome Soldiers

as Sheriff Blackwell

Oscar

as Overton

Die Hard 2

as Richard Thornberg

Buried Alive

as Cort van Owen

Grim Prairie Tales

as Arthur

Die Hard

as Richard Thornburg

Intrigue

as Doggett

The Equalizer - The Movie: Blood & Wine

1987

as Martin 'Alpha' Loeber

A Fight for Jenny

as Michael Rosen

No Mercy

as Allan Deveneux

Real Genius

as Professor Hathaway

Ghostbusters

as Walter Peck

Malibu

as Stan Harvey

Tomorrow's Child

as Jim Spence

The House of Mirth

as Lawrence Selden

Looking for Mr. Goodbar

1977

as James

6.4

Independence

1976

as Benjamin Rush

The Day of the Locust

as Tod Hackett

The Hindenburg

as Boerth

The Sugarland Express

1974

as Clovis Poplin

6.6

Class of '44

1973

as Fraternity President

5.9

The New Centurions

1972

as Johnson

6.6

Midnight Men: A John Schlesinger and Michael Childers Story

Television (26)

Reunited Apart

as Self

Workaholics

as Thor Holmvik

Castle

as Ari Weiss

Childrens Hospital

as Levon Bainter

Life

as Mickey Rayborn

Numb3rs

as Warren Pierce

Desperate Housewives

as Dr. Barr

Lost

as Donald Reynolds

Boston Legal

as A.D.A. Howard Zale

7.9

Monk

2002

as Commander Nathan Whitaker

7.9

Justice League

2001

as Dr. Destiny / John Dee (voice)

8.2

Night Visions

2001

as William Price (segment "Hate Puppet")

7.2

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

1999

as Ned Bogden

7.9

The Crow: Stairway to Heaven

as Nathan Randall

Stargate SG-1

as Emissary Varta

The Practice

as D.A. Keith Pratt

Nash Bridges

as Dr. Linus Mills

The Outer Limits

as Franklin Murdoch

HBO First Look

Law & Order

as Don Snyder

Max Monroe: Loose Cannon

as Sloane

Tales from the Crypt

as Malcolm Mayflower

The Equalizer

as Martin 'Alpha' Loeber

7.1

The Twilight Zone

1985

as Brian Wolfe (segment "Night of the Meek")

Murder, She Wrote

as Larry Holleran

Centennial

as Jim Lloyd

Crew (1)

Movies (1)

Headspace

2005

Co-Producer

5.1