David Atherton is a makeup artist who worked for Michael Westmore as on-set makeup artist on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Atherton started to work as special makeup effects artist on films such as Maniac Cop (1988, with Bradley Look), the thriller Slipping Into Darkness (1988), Little Monsters (1989, with Gil Mosko and Jill Rockow), Shocker (1989, with David LeRoy Anderson), After Midnight (1989), Demon Wind (1990, with David LeRoy Anderson and Mark Garbarino), the horror drama Ain't No Way Back (1990), The Flash and Captain Power, and Dances with Wolves (1990, with Francisco X. Perez).
He worked as makeup department head on Toy Soldiers (1991, starring Wil Wheaton), Thunderheart (1992), Silent Tongue (1993), Tombstone (1993), Iron Will (1994), the television drama Take Me Home Again (1994), and received for The Last of His Tribe a CableACE Award nomination in the category Best Makeup in 1993.
In 1998, Atherton shared a Saturn Award nomination in the category Best Makeup with Kevin Yagher for their work on Face/Off. Atherton's further projects include credits as personal makeup and hair stylist for actors Val Kilmer and Steven Seagal. Among his credits are Dead Man's Walk (1996, starring F. Murray Abraham and Keith Carradine) and Seven Days (1998, starring Norman Lloyd and Alan Scarfe), The Patriot (1998, with Mary L. Mastro), Exit Wounds (2001), Stealing Harvard (2002, with Mary L. Mastro and Sheryl Blum), Half Past Dead (2002), The Foreigner (2003), A Man Apart (2003, with Gil Mosko), The New World (2005), Mercenary for Justice (2006), Conspiracy (2008), Columbus Day (2008), Against the Dark (2009), The Thaw (2009, with Joe Colwell), Flypaper (2011, starring Ashley Judd), Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012), Oz the Great and Powerful (2013, with Richard Alonzo, Ken Diaz, Steve LaPorte, Bart Mixon, Cristina Patterson Ceret, Joe Podnar, Craig Reardon, Don Rutherford, and Joy Zapata), and The Lone Ranger (2013).
He later worked as makeup department head on The Homesman (2014, with Clinton Wayne) and the action thriller The Rogue (2015) and as makeup artist on Big Time in Hollywood, FL (2015).