Anthony Stewart Head, the English actor who portrayed the Watcher and school librarian Rupert Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has died, his family said on Friday. He was 72.
Head’s daughters, Emily and Daisy, told the Press Association that their “extraordinary father” had “passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by his family.”
“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,” their statement, according to the Independent, continued. “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 died two months after his longtime partner, animal welfare advocate Sarah Fisher, died suddenly at 61. At the time, Emily and Daisy called the death “immensely shocking.”
Anthony Head and Sarah Michelle Gellar in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
(20th Century Fox Film Corp/Everett Collection)
Head began his TV career in commercials, becoming a recognizable figure in the U.K. due to his appearance in Nescafé’s hugely popular Gold Blend commercials. Head appeared opposite actress Sharon Maughan in the serialized commercials, which showed two neighbors sparking a romance over their cups of coffee.
On the stage, Head made a name for himself on the West End in the early ’90s, when he starred as “sweet transvestite” Frank-N-Furter in the revival of The Rocky Horror Show at London’s Piccadilly Theatre.
Head became known to American audiences in 1997, when he joined the cast of the WB’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a mentor to Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy Summers, and appeared on the show as a regular until the sixth season, when he transitioned to a special guest star.
Following the end of Buffy in 2003, Head joined the cast of the BBC comedy sketch show Little Britain from 2003 to 2005. He went on to star in four seasons of the BBC drama Merlin as King Uther Pendragon, from 2008 to 2011. On the big screen, he starred in the 2008 horror musical Repo! The Genetic Opera, opposite Alexa Vega and Paris Hilton. The film returned to theaters for a one-day run in May.
In 2020, Head joined the cast of Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso as former football team owner Rupert Mannion. He became a series regular during Season 3.
Head’s death follows the recent deaths of two Buffy costars. Nicholas Brendon, who played Xander Harris, died in March at age 54. Michelle Trachtenberg, who portrayed Buffy’s younger sister, Dawn, died in February 2025 at age 39.
Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played Buffy to Head’s Giles for all seven seasons of the series, posted a slideshow of backstage photos with Head on Instagram. Her caption opened with a callback to a line from the Season 5 finale, in which Buffy sacrifices her life to save her sister Dawn: “Tell Giles I figured it out and I’m ok.”
“Well I don’t have it figured out and I’m not ok,” Gellar continued. “But I know I’m the lucky one because I knew you. Thank you to Daisy and Emily who not only shared their dad with me, but with the world.”
Alexa PenaVega, who played Head’s daughter in Repo! The Genetic Opera, wrote in her Instagram story that Head was “such a talent” and “a dream to work with.”
“Kind. Compassionate. Always bringing his all,” she continued. “I can’t imagine any other Repo Man. What a gift it was to have been his Shilo.”
David Boreanaz, who appeared in Buffy as the vampire Angel, also paid tribute to the late star on Instagram, writing that Head was “so kind and generous of a soul.”
Eliza Dushku, who played Faith on the series, wrote on her Instagram story alongside a photo of the actor, “For every scene and time shared, I give thanks. Rest in love and peace, kind sir. A dear one.”