Anthony Head, the suave, smooth-voiced British actor recognized for roles in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Ted Lasso,” has died, his household stated Friday. He was 72.
Head’s daughters, actors Emily and Daisy Head, instructed the Press Association news company that the actor handed away attributable to problems from pneumonia.
The stage and TV performer grew to become well-known to British audiences within the Eighties as one half of a will-they, received’t-they romantic couple in a sequence of adverts for Nescafe Gold Blend immediate espresso. The adverts had been later re-shot for a U.S. viewers for Taster’s Choice.
Head achieved wider fame as librarian Rupert Giles, mentor to the title character within the cult-favorite supernatural sequence “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” which ran from 1997 to 2003.
He most not too long ago performed Rupert Mannion, the villainous ex-husband of Hannah Waddingham’s character Rebecca, in “Ted Lasso.”
“Our grief is far greater than the hole he has left behind, but we know his legacy will live on, in the shows he was a part of, and in the audiences that love them,” his daughters stated. “How lucky we are to know we are able to watch him doing what he loved, even when he is no longer with us.”
Head was born in London on Feb. 20, 1954 to Seafield Head, a documentary filmmaker, and Helen Shingler, an actor. His older brother, Murray, can also be an actor.
Other notable roles included enjoying Geoffrey Howe, the deputy to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, performed by Meryl Streep, within the Oscar-winning “The Iron Lady.”
Head portrayed a first-rate minister himself within the sketch comedy present “Little Britain,” in addition to King Uther Pendragon, the daddy of Prince Arthur, within the “Merlin” TV sequence. He additionally appeared in “Motherland,” Manchild,” and “Silent Witness,” together with performing in lots of performs, musicals, and recording music as a singer.
He was predeceased by his longtime companion, animal welfare activist Sarah Fisher, 61, in 2025.
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