Anthony Head, known for roles in Buffy and Ted Lasso, dies

Sat 6 Jun 2026 at 5:26am

Sat 6 Jun 2026 at 5:26am

In short:

British actor Anthony Head has died from pneumonia complications, according to his daughters.

He was aged 72.

The stage and TV star was known for his roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Ted Lasso.

British actor Anthony Head, known for his roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Ted Lasso, has died aged 72.

His daughters, actors Emily and Daisy Head, said the actor died due to complications from pneumonia.

The stage and TV performer became well known to British audiences in the 1980s as one half of a will-they, won't-they romantic couple in a series of ads for instant coffee.

Head went on to achieve wider fame as librarian Rupert Giles, mentor to the title character in the cult-favourite supernatural TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which ran from 1997 to 2003.

He most recently played 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 said.

"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 February 20, 1954, to Seafield Head, a documentary filmmaker, and Helen Shingler, an actor.

His older brother, Murray, is also an actor.

Other notable roles he played included Geoffrey Howe, the deputy to prime minister Margaret Thatcher, played by Meryl Streep, in the Oscar-winning The Iron Lady.

Head portrayed a prime minister himself in the sketch comedy show Little Britain, as well as King Uther Pendragon, the father of Prince Arthur, in the Merlin TV series.

He also appeared in Motherland, Manchild, and Silent Witness, along with acting in many plays, musicals, and recording music as a singer.

His longtime partner, animal welfare activist Sarah Fisher, 61, died in 2025.

AP