William Atherton

July 30, 1947 (age 79) Orange, Connecticut, USA

William Atherton Knight Jr. (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.

His titles like Die Hard, Ghostbusters, and Die Hard 2 - his biggest roles first.
Last updated: September 18, 2026

Watched: 0/57

Weighted avg: 6.88 /10

1

1

Die Hard

1988July 1988 by John McTiernan

Supporting as Richard Thornburg

Supporting as Richard Thornburg

7.47 Excellent- 12.6k ratings
2

2

Ghostbusters

1984June 1984 by Ivan Reitman

Supporting as Walter Peck

Supporting as Walter Peck

7.11 Good++ 9,996 ratings
3

3

Die Hard 2

1990July 1990 by Renny Harlin

Supporting as Richard Thornberg

Supporting as Richard Thornberg

6.53 Good- 6,588 ratings
4

4

The Last Samurai

2003December 2003 by Edward Zwick

Minor role as Winchester Rep

Minor role as Winchester Rep

7.23 Excellent-- 7,769 ratings
5

5

The Pelican Brief

1993September 1993 by Alan J. Pakula

Supporting as Bob Gminski

Supporting as Bob Gminski

6.13 Good-- 1,829 ratings
6

6

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

2024March 2024 by Gil Kenan

Minor role as Mayor Walter Peck

Minor role as Mayor Walter Peck

5.94 Okay++ 2,290 ratings
7

7

The Sugarland Express

1974March 1974 by Steven Spielberg

Starring as Clovis Poplin

Starring as Clovis Poplin

6.10 Okay++ 486 ratings
8

8

The Girl Next Door

2007July 2007 by Gregory Wilson

Supporting as Adult David Moran

Supporting as Adult David Moran

6.17 Good-- 810 ratings
9

9

Real Genius

1985August 1985 by Martha Coolidge

Supporting as Professor Hathaway

Supporting as Professor Hathaway

6.16 Good-- 523 ratings
10

10

Bio-Dome

1996January 1996 by Jason Bloom

Starring as Dr. Noah Faulkner

Starring as Dr. Noah Faulkner

4.78 Mediocre+ 420 ratings
11

11

Clinical

2017January 2017 by Alistair Legrand

Supporting as Terry Drummond

Supporting as Terry Drummond

5.21 Okay-- 445 ratings
12

12

The Crow: Salvation

2000January 2000 by Bharat Nalluri

Supporting as Nathan Randall

Supporting as Nathan Randall

5.34 Okay- 417 ratings
13

13

Mad City

1997October 1997 by Costa-Gavras

Supporting as Dohlen

Supporting as Dohlen

5.86 Okay+ 375 ratings
14

14

Oscar

1991April 1991 by John Landis

Minor role as Overton

Minor role as Overton

5.95 Okay++ 595 ratings
15

15

Buried Alive

1990May 1990 by Frank Darabont

Starring as Cort van Owen

Starring as Cort van Owen

6.14 Good-- 189 ratings
16

16

The Hindenburg

1975December 1975 by Robert Wise

Starring as Boerth

Starring as Boerth

5.94 Okay++ 155 ratings
17

17

Hoodlum

1997August 1997 by Bill Duke

Minor role as Thomas E. Dewey

Minor role as Thomas E. Dewey

6.01 Okay++ 261 ratings
18

18

No Mercy

1986December 1986 by Richard Pearce

Supporting as Allan Deveneux

Supporting as Allan Deveneux

5.68 Okay+ 206 ratings
19

19

Looking for Mr. Goodbar

1977October 1977 by Richard Brooks

Starring as James

Starring as James

5.94 Okay++ 132 ratings
20

20

Who's Your Daddy?

2004January 2004 by Andy Fickman

Starring as Duncan Mack

Starring as Duncan Mack

5.55 Okay <100 ratings
21

21

Into the Sun

2005November 2005 by mink

Supporting as Agent Block

Supporting as Agent Block

5.17 Okay-- 174 ratings
22

22

The Day of the Locust

1975May 1975 by John Schlesinger

Supporting as Tod Hackett

Supporting as Tod Hackett

5.98 Okay++ 113 ratings
23

23

Jinn

2014April 2014 by Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad

Starring as Father Westhoff

Starring as Father Westhoff

5.32 Okay- <100 ratings
24

24

Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie

2012March 2012 by Eric Wareheim

Minor role as Earle Swinter

Minor role as Earle Swinter

5.61 Okay 143 ratings
25

25

Headspace

2005September 2005 by Andrew van den Houten

Starring as Dr. Ira Gold

Starring as Dr. Ira Gold

5.78 Okay+ <100 ratings
26

26

The New Centurions

1972August 1972 by Richard Fleischer

Minor role as Johnson

Minor role as Johnson

6.04 Okay++ <100 ratings
27

27

Frank & Jesse

1994October 1994 by Robert Boris

Supporting as Allan Pinkerton

Supporting as Allan Pinkerton

5.82 Okay+ <100 ratings
28

28

Ghouls

2008July 2008 by Gary Jones

Lead role as Stefan

Lead role as Stefan

5.79 Okay+ <100 ratings
29

29

Race to Space

2001October 2001 by Sean McNamara

Starring as Ralph Stanton

Starring as Ralph Stanton

5.96 Okay++ <100 ratings
30

30

Introducing Dorothy Dandridge

1999August 1999 by Martha Coolidge

Minor role as Darryl Zanuck

Minor role as Darryl Zanuck

5.99 Okay++ <100 ratings
31

31

Jersey Shore Shark Attack

2012June 2012 by John Shepphird

Minor role as Dolan

Minor role as Dolan

5.66 Okay <100 ratings
32

32

Grim Prairie Tales

1990September 1990 by Wayne Coe

Starring as Arthur

Starring as Arthur

5.94 Okay++ <100 ratings
33

33

Ghostheads

2016April 2016 by Brenden Mertens

Supporting as Self

Supporting as Self

5.94 Okay++ <100 ratings
34

34

Aces 'N' Eights

2008March 2008 by Craig R. Baxley

Supporting as Howard

Supporting as Howard

6.01 Okay++ <100 ratings
35

35

The Citizen

2012September 2012 by Sam Kadi

Supporting

Supporting

6.00 Okay++ <100 ratings
36

36

The Kane Files: Life of Trial

2010October 2010 by Benjamin Gourley

Supporting as Daniel Morgan

Supporting as Daniel Morgan

5.89 Okay++ <100 ratings
37

37

Cleanin' Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters

2020January 2020 by Anthony Bueno

Supporting as Self

Supporting as Self

6.03 Okay++ <100 ratings
38

38

Gone But Not Forgotten

2005January 2005 by Armand Mastroianni

Supporting as Sen. Ray Colby

Supporting as Sen. Ray Colby

5.92 Okay++ <100 ratings
39

39

Virus

1995May 1995 by Armand Mastroianni

Supporting as Dr. Reginald Holloway

Supporting as Dr. Reginald Holloway

5.92 Okay++ <100 ratings
40

40

Malibu

1983January 1983 by E.W. Swackhamer

Lead role as Stan Harvey

Lead role as Stan Harvey

Needs more reviews
41

41

Towards Darkness

2007April 2007 by Antonio Negret

Supporting as John

Supporting as John

5.94 Okay++ <100 ratings
42

42

Michael Kael vs. the World News Company

1998February 1998 by Christophe Smith

Supporting as James Denit

Supporting as James Denit

5.91 Okay++ <100 ratings
43

43

Diagnosis Murder: Diagnosis of Murder

1992January 1992 by Christopher Hibler

Supporting as Eric Walker

Supporting as Eric Walker

6.09 Okay++ <100 ratings
44

44

Broken Trust

1995August 1995 by Geoffrey Sax

Starring as Neil Roemer

Starring as Neil Roemer

Needs more reviews
45

45

Black Crescent Moon

2008June 2008 by Adam Pertofsky

Supporting as Jo Dexton

Supporting as Jo Dexton

Needs more reviews
46

46

Executive Power

1997September 1997 by David L. Corley

Supporting as President Fields

Supporting as President Fields

Needs more reviews
47

47

The Stranger

1999December 1999 by Bruce David Klein

Lead role

Lead role

Needs more reviews
48

48

Chrome Soldiers

1992May 1992 by Thomas J. Wright

Starring as Sheriff Blackwell

Starring as Sheriff Blackwell

Needs more reviews
49

49

Intrigue

1988September 1988 by David Drury

Starring as Doggett

Starring as Doggett

Needs more reviews
50

50

Class of '44

1973April 1973 by Paul Bogart

Supporting as Fraternity President

Supporting as Fraternity President

Needs more reviews
51

51

Raven Hawk

1996July 1996 by Albert Pyun

Minor role as Philip Thorne

Minor role as Philip Thorne

5.90 Okay++ <100 ratings
52

52

Tomorrow's Child

1982March 1982 by Joseph Sargent

Starring as Jim Spence

Starring as Jim Spence

Needs more reviews
53

53

Saints and Sinners

1994September 1994 by Paul Mones

Supporting as Terence

Supporting as Terence

Needs more reviews
54

54

Bad Company

2018August 2018 by Robin Christian

Minor role

Minor role

Needs more reviews
55

55

Kush

2007June 2007 by York Shackleton

Supporting as King

Supporting as King

Needs more reviews
56

56

A Fight for Jenny

1986October 1986 by Gilbert Moses

Supporting as Michael Rosen

Supporting as Michael Rosen

Needs more reviews
57

57

The Equalizer - The Movie: Blood & Wine

1987September 1987 by Alan Metzger

Supporting as Martin 'Alpha' Loeber

Supporting as Martin 'Alpha' Loeber

Needs more reviews