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. Early life Atherton was born in Orange, Connecticut, the son of Myrtle (née Robinson) and Robert Atherton Knight. He studied acting at the Drama School at Carnegie Tech and graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1969. Career Atherton was successful on the New York stage immediately after graduating and worked with many of the country's leading playwrights including David Rabe, John Guare, and Arthur Miller, winning numerous awards for his work on and off Broadway. He got his big break playing hapless fugitive Clovis Poplin in The Sugarland Express (1974), the feature film debut of Steven Spielberg. After this, he garnered major roles in dark dramas such as The Day of the Locust (1975) and Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), as well as the big-budget disaster film The Hindenburg (1975). Atherton also starred as cowboy Jim Lloyd in the miniseries Centennial (1978), based on the novel by James Michener. He appeared in the comedy Ghostbusters (1984) as the officious condescending EPA agent Walter Peck. K. Thor Jensen wrote, "Atherton, who plays cowardly EPA lawyer Walter Peck, is the real villain of the movie (his releasing the ghosts from the containment unit added to the chaos in New York), [he] was so hated that after the movie came out he was harassed on the street and challenged to fights in bars." Martha Coolidge chose Atherton to play Professor Jerry Hathaway in the teen comedy Real Genius (1985). Atherton played reporter Richard "Dick" Thornburg in the blockbuster action film Die Hard (1988), and reprised the role in its sequel Die Hard 2 (1990). Other film credits include No Mercy (1986), The Pelican Brief (1993), Bio-Dome (1996), Mad City (1997), The Crow: Salvation (2000), The Last Samurai (2003), Grim Prairie Tales (1990), the TV movies Buried Alive (1990), Headspace (2005) and Virus (1995). He has also made guest appearances on such television series as The Twilight Zone, Murder, She Wrote, Desperate Housewives, Law & Order, The Equalizer, Boston Legal, Castle and Monk. Atherton provided the voice of Dr. Destiny on Justice League. He had a recurring role in NBC's detective drama Life. While starring in The Day of the Locust, Atherton was offered and accepted the opportunity to provide lead vocals for "What'll I Do",