Early Life
Lustig was born and raised in Rochester, New York, and graduated from Brighton High School in 1974.1 He went on to attend Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting and directing.1 After graduating, he joined the faculty of The Lee Strasberg Institute, where he has continued to teach acting technique alongside his performing career.1
Career
Lustig began his professional acting career in 1984 and quickly established himself as a reliable character actor in Hollywood, typically cast in roles of authority: doctors, lawyers, producers, and bureaucrats.1
His film work includes roles in two notable films released in 1990: Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands, in which he played a psychiatrist evaluating the title character, and Sam Raimi's Darkman.1 He went on to appear in the Harrison Ford thriller Clear and Present Danger (1994), Harold Ramis's Bedazzled (2000), the Roland Emmerich disaster film The Day After Tomorrow (2004), and Todd Phillips's War Dogs (2016).1
On television, Lustig built one of his most substantial roles on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless, playing Dr. Tim Reid from 1996 to 1998 under contract and returning again from 2012 onward.4 The same character crossed over to sister soap The Bold and the Beautiful in 2002.4 His portrayal of Dr. Tim Reid earned him a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in 1997.2
His prime-time television credits are extensive. He played Dr. Gerald Talbot, a neurologist, in four episodes of NYPD Blue between 1995 and 1998.1 He appeared in the first season of Star Trek: Voyager (1995) as the Banean doctor in the episode "Ex Post Facto."5 He guest-starred on Criminal Minds as Walter Kern, a long-dormant serial killer, in the episode "Unfinished Business,"6 and appeared in season seven of Desperate Housewives.2 Other television credits include The Bold and the Beautiful and Family Guy, among many others.1
Beyond performing, Lustig directed the short film Mindslip in 2014.1
Ghostbusters
In Ghostbusters II (1989), Lustig played Norman the Producer, a television executive who oversees the in-studio segments of the psychic talk show The World of the Psychic.3 Norman's chief problem is that no credible psychic will appear on the show because of its association with Peter Venkman, whom the professional psychic community regards as a fraud.3 The character appeared in the film's opening sequence and served as a comedic foil establishing Venkman's diminished post-Ghostbusters reputation.3 The Norman character has been visually referenced in IDW Publishing's Ghostbusters comic series.
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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"Aaron Lustig," IMDb Biography, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0527316/bio/. Confirmed: born September 17, 1956, Rochester, NY; graduated Brighton High School, class of 1974; B.F.A. in acting and directing, Ithaca College; faculty member, The Lee Strasberg Institute; professional acting career began 1984.
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"Aaron Lustig," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Lustig.
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Ghostbusters II (1989), Columbia Pictures. Chapter 02: "World of the Psychic."
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Logan, Michael. "Exclusive: Aaron Lustig Returns to The Young and the Restless," TV Guide (April 25, 2012), https://www.tvguide.com/news/exclusive-aaron-lustig-young-restless-1046437/. Confirms 2012 return to The Young and the Restless after a 15-year absence, and confirms prior appearance as Dr. Tim Reid on The Bold and the Beautiful in 2002.
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"Aaron Lustig," Memory Alpha, accessed 2026-06-13, https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Aaron_Lustig. Confirms role as the Banean doctor in Star Trek: Voyager Season 1, "Ex Post Facto" (aired February 27, 1995).
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"Criminal Minds: Unfinished Business" (Season 1, Episode 15, 2006), IMDb, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0550496/characters/nm0527316.
