Wlliam Atherton was born William Atherton Knight on July 30,1947 in Orange, Connecticut. He is well known for playing real jerks in many films. In 1974, William's big role was in the film The Sugarland Express; then, in 1977, he starred in the drama movie Looking for Mr. Goodbar . His well known roles are in the 1984 hit film Ghostbusters as Walter Peck, the 1985 comedy Real Genius as Professor Jerry Hathaway, the 1988 action hit film Die Hard and the 1990 sequel Die Hard 2: Die Harder as the egotistical reporter Dick Thornburg.

His other film credits include No Mercy, Virus, The Crow: Salvation, The Last Samurai, the TV movie Buried Alive, and his upcoming film Headspace in 2005.

His guest appearances on TV shows include The Twilight Zone, The Equalizer , Law & Order, and Justice League as the voice of Dr. Destiny/John Dee.