William Atherton's illustrious career has spanned across multiple mediums, including motion pictures, Broadway, and television. He initially gained international recognition for his leading roles in Steven Spielberg's debut feature, The Sugarland Express, in 1974, followed by notable performances in John Schlesinger's The Day of the Locust, Robert Wise's The Hindenburg, and Richard Brooks' Looking for Mr. Goodbar.
Atherton is widely recognized for his iconic film characters, including the television reporter Dick Thornburg in the action-packed blockbusters Die Hard and Die Hard 2, the EPA official Walter Peck in Ghostbusters, Professor Jerry Hathaway in Real Genius, and Dr. Noah Faulkner in Bio-Dome. His extensive filmography boasts over 30 feature films, with notable co-starring roles in John Landis' Oscar, Bill Duke's Hoodlum, Richard Pearce's No Mercy, Alan J. Pakula's The Pelican Brief, Costa-Gavras' Mad City, and Edward Zwick's The Last Samurai.
On television, Atherton has starred in numerous miniseries, including the classic Western Centennial and the all-star cast in Malibu. His made-for-TV movies feature leading roles in TNT's Broken Trust and HBO's Golden Globe-winning Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. He has also reprised his role as Walter Peck in the video game Ghostbusters: The Video Game, released in 2009.
Atherton's work on the stage has earned him numerous accolades, with notable roles in Joseph Papp's original production of David Rabe's "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel", John Guare's "The House of Blue Leaves", and Bing Ring Ling in his "Rich and Famous". He has also starred in the Broadway premiere of Arthur Miller's "The American Clock" and the Tony-winning revival of Herman Wouk's "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial". Among his over 20 well-known productions are the acclaimed New York premieres of Franz Kafka's "The Castle" and Kressman Taylor's "Address Unknown".
