William Atherton
William Atherton is known for Die Hard (1988), Ghostbusters (1984), The Last Samurai (2003).
Biography
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.
Questions about William Atherton
How many William Atherton films are in the catalogue?
The CineQuiz catalogue has 63 films with William Atherton, from 1972 to 2025.
What is the best rated William Atherton film?
The best rated William Atherton film in the catalogue is Die Hard (1988), rated 7.8.
What was the first William Atherton film?
The first William Atherton film in the catalogue is The New Centurions, from 1972.
Who has William Atherton worked with the most?
In the catalogue, William Atherton shares the most credits with Elmer Bernstein (4 films), Annie Potts (2 films) and Bill Murray (2 films).
People data: TMDb.
- Awards
- Theatre World Award (1972)
Known for
Trivia
- Studied at
- Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts · Carnegie Mellon University · Amity Regional High School
Trivia from Wikidata, licensed CC0.
Full filmography
64 films — 63 in the catalogue
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Where Did the Adults Go?
2025 · The Father
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6.4 Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
2024 · Mayor Walter Peck
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6.9 Cleanin' Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters
2020 · Self
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5.4 Bad Company
2018
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5.3 Clinical
2017 · Terry Drummond
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6.0 Ghostheads
2016 · Self
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4.1 Jinn
2014 · Father Westhoff
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6.4 The Citizen
2012
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4.6 Jersey Shore Shark Attack
2012 · Dolan
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5.4 Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie
2012 · Earle Swinter
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4.8 The Kane Files: Life of Trial
2010 · Daniel Morgan
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3.3 Almas Perversas
2008 · Stefan
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3.5 Black Crescent Moon
2008 · Jo Dexton
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6.5 Aces 'N' Eights
2008 · Howard
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6.7 The Girl Next Door
2007 · Adult David Moran
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3.4 Kush
2007 · King
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4.9 Towards Darkness
2007 · John
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4.5 Into the Sun
2005 · Agent Block
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5.1 Headspace
2005 · Dr. Ira Gold
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4.8 Gone But Not Forgotten
2005 · Sen. Ray Colby
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4.9 Who's Your Daddy?
2004 · Duncan Mack
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7.6 The Last Samurai
2003 · Winchester Rep
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6.0 Race to Space
2001 · Ralph Stanton
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8.5 Burning Down the House
2001 · Arthur Kranston
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6.3 Bread and Roses
2000 · Party Guest (uncredited)
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5.5 The Crow: Salvation
2000 · Nathan Randall
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4.3 The Stranger
1999
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6.4 Introducing Dorothy Dandridge
1999 · Darryl Zanuck
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4.0 Michael Kael vs. the World News Company
1998 · James Denit
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6.2 Mad City
1997 · Dohlen
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5.9 Executive Power
1997 · President Fields
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6.5 Hoodlum
1997 · Thomas E. Dewey
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4.0 Raven Hawk
1996 · Philip Thorne
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4.6 Bio-Dome
1996 · Dr. Noah Faulkner
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6.3 Broken Trust
1995 · Neil Roemer
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7.0 A Night to Die For
1995 · Self
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4.8 Virus
1995 · Dr. Reginald Holloway
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5.2 Frank & Jesse
1994 · Allan Pinkerton
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5.0 Saints and Sinners
1994 · Terence
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6.6 The Pelican Brief
1993 · Bob Gminski
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4.4 Chrome Soldiers
1992 · Sheriff Blackwell
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8.2 Diagnosis Murder: Diagnosis of Murder
1992 · Eric Walker
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6.4 Oscar
1991 · Overton
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5.8 Grim Prairie Tales
1990 · Arthur
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7.0 Die Hard 2
1990 · Richard Thornberg
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6.8 Buried Alive
1990 · Cort van Owen
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6.4 Intrigue
1988 · Doggett
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7.8 Die Hard
1988 · Richard Thornburg
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8.7 The Equalizer - The Movie: Blood & Wine
1987 · Martin 'Alpha' Loeber
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5.8 No Mercy
1986 · Allan Deveneux
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6.3 A Fight for Jenny
1986 · Michael Rosen
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6.7 Real Genius
1985 · Professor Hathaway
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7.5 Ghostbusters
1984 · Walter Peck
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3.8 Malibu
1983 · Stan Harvey
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4.3 Tomorrow's Child
1982 · Jim Spence
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8.0 The House of Mirth
1981 · Lawrence Selden
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6.3 Looking for Mr. Goodbar
1977 · James
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7.5 Independence
1976 · Benjamin Rush
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6.3 The Hindenburg
1975 · Boerth
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6.4 The Day of the Locust
1975 · Tod Hackett
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6.6 The Sugarland Express
1974 · Clovis Poplin
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6.6 Class of '44
1973 · Fraternity President
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6.6 The New Centurions
1972 · Johnson
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Midnight Men: A John Schlesinger and Michael Childers Story
no date
Series and TV shows
22 titles
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7.4
Workaholics
2011 · Thor Holmvik
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8.0
Castle
2009 · Ari Weiss
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7.0
Childrens Hospital
2008 · Levon Bainter
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7.7
Life
2007 · Mickey Rayborn · 8 ep.
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7.0
Numb3rs
2005 · Warren Pierce
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7.9
Boston Legal
2004 · A.D.A. Howard Zale
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7.9
Desperate Housewives
2004 · Dr. Barr
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8.0
Lost
2004 · Donald Reynolds
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7.9
Monk
2002 · Commander Nathan Whitaker
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8.2
Justice League
2001 · Dr. Destiny / John Dee (voice) · 2 ep.
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7.1
Night Visions
2001 · William Price (segment "Hate Puppet")
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8.0
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999 · Ned Bogden
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7.6
The Practice
1997 · D.A. Keith Pratt · 3 ep.
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8.3
Stargate SG-1
1997 · Emissary Varta
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6.6
Nash Bridges
1996 · Dr. Linus Mills
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7.7
The Outer Limits
1995 · Franklin Murdoch
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7.3
Law & Order
1990 · Don Snyder
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8.0
Tales from the Crypt
1989 · Malcolm Mayflower
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7.2
The Equalizer
1985 · Gideon
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7.7
The Twilight Zone
1985 · (segment "The Card")
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7.5
Murder, She Wrote
1984 · Andy Henley
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7.7
Centennial
1978 · Jim Lloyd · 12 ep.
People data: TMDb.
Cast
