William Atherton Knight was born on July 30, 1947 in Orange, Connecticut, the son of Robert Knight and Roby Raymond. He studied acting at the Drama School at Carnegie Tech and graduated from Carnegie-Mellon in 1969. A veteran of stage, film and television, Atherton began as a leading man in Steven Spielberg's Sugarland Express (1974), John Schlesinger's Le jour du fléau (1975), and Richard Brooks' À la recherche de Mr. Goodbar (1977). He is most known for his iconic roles in S.O.S. fantômes (1984), Real Genius (1985), Piège de cristal (1988), 58 minutes pour vivre (1990) and Bio-Dome (1996). He began his career on the New York stage, creating roles for many of the country's leading playwrights including David Rabe, John Guare and Arthur Miller. He has received the Drama Desk Award, the Theater World Award and nominations for an Obie and Chicago's Joseph Jefferson Award.
