Anthony Head, the British actor who guided Buffy the Vampire Slayer because the heroine’s Watcher, Rupert Giles, has died.
Head, 72, died of problems from pneumonia, his daughters Daisy and Emily mentioned in a press release to the Press Affiliation within the U.Ok.
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our extraordinary father, Anthony Head,” their statement says. “He handed away peacefully of problems resulting from pneumonia, surrounded by his household.
“It has been, and forever will be, an honour and a privilege to be his daughters, and to have witnessed firsthand the impact both he and his work have had on so many. We know how dearly he will be missed by friends, colleagues, and fans of the shows he was in — he loved his job very much, and he always considered himself incredibly lucky, to have been able to work alongside such exceptionally talented people, in such wonderful productions, across a career that spanned several decades.”
Head’s breakout position got here in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the TV adaptation by creator Joss Whedon of the 1992 film of the identical title. As Giles, the bookish however steely Watcher, he helped information Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) as she got here to phrases with being the Slayer and supported her missions. Extra not too long ago, he performed Rupert Mannion, the philandering ex-husband of AFC Richmond proprietor Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) in Apple TV’s Ted Lasso. His credit additionally included Little Britain and Merlin within the U.Ok. and various stage roles.
Anthony Stewart Head was born Feb. 20, 1954, in London to documentary filmmaker Seafield Head and actress Helen Shingler; his older brother is actor and singer Murray Head (“One Night in Bangkok” from Chess). He attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Artwork and had early roles in a 1978 manufacturing of Godspell in London, the movie Girl Chatterley’s Lover and various visitor appearances in British TV sequence.
An early breakthrough got here in a series of TV commercials for Gold Mix espresso within the U.Ok., the place he and Sharon Maughan performed a person and girl who started a slow-burn romance over a sequence of espresso dates. Variations of the adverts had been additionally made in the US for Taster’s Selection, with Head and Maughan once more taking part in the couple.
His position in Buffy gained him legions of followers within the U.S. — but additionally meant he was away from his household for lengthy stretches as he filmed the present in Los Angeles. “My partner Sarah [Fisher] and the girls — Daisy was four and Emily was six — stayed in England,” he told The Guardian in a 2016 interview. I’d attempt to go residence to them each three or 4 weeks. The manufacturing crew would work dates round me, and each time I received the prospect to have six days clear, I’d get on a aircraft. Something lower than six days was disruptive — I’d have to depart as quickly as they had been getting used to having me round. I’d hit the bottom working, take over from Sarah, take the women to highschool and do as a lot as I might earlier than I had to return.”
Put up-Buffy, Head additionally starred within the BBC dramedy Manchild and Channel 4’s Free Brokers (together with its short-lived NBC remake) within the U.Ok. and Syfy’s Dominion and ABC’s Nonetheless Star-Crossed within the U.S., together with The Iron Girl reverse Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent a bunch of visitor and recurring roles on TV.
Head is survived by his daughters. Fisher, and animal welfare advocate, died in late December.
