Key takeaways:
- Anthony Head died at 72 after complications from pneumonia, his daughters Emily and Daisy said.
- Head was widely known as Rupert Giles on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and Rupert Mannion, a former football club owner, on “Ted Lasso.”
- His career also included “Little Britain,” “Merlin,” “Doctor Who,” “The Iron Lady,” “Bridgerton,” BBC Radio 4’s “The Archers” and stage musicals.
Anthony Head, the British actor whose career stretched from the tweedy mentor Rupert Giles on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” to the scheming former football club owner Rupert Mannion on “Ted Lasso,” has died. He was 72.
Head “passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by his family,” his daughters Emily and Daisy said in a statement released to the Press Association news agency.
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our extraordinary father,” they said, according to the BBC. “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.”
They said he “loved his job very much” and “always considered himself incredibly lucky,” adding that they knew “how dearly he will be missed by friends, colleagues and fans of the show he was in.” His family said “his legacy will live on.”
For many U.S. viewers, Head was best known as Rupert Giles, the librarian and father-like guide to Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy Summers in the supernatural teen series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” He appeared on the show from 1997 to 2003; only Gellar, Alyson Hannigan and Nicholas Brendon appeared in more episodes, NBC News reported.
Decades later, Head reached a new audience as Rupert Mannion, the philandering former soccer club owner and antagonist to characters played by Jason Sudeikis and Hannah Waddingham in the Emmy-winning comedy “Ted Lasso.” He appeared on the series from 2020 to 2023.
Head had already built a substantial career in Britain before becoming widely known in the United States. In the 1980s, he became a familiar face on British television through Nescafe Gold Blend coffee adverts, appearing with Sharon Maughan in a long-running coffee-themed romance campaign from 1987 to 1993.
He later took on prominent roles across British television. He played the prime minister in the sketch comedy “Little Britain,” which ran from 2003 to 2006 and parodied aspects of U.K. culture. He also played King Uther Pendragon in the BBC fantasy drama “Merlin,” and appeared in shows including “Doctor Who,” “The Inbetweeners,” “Manchild,” “Motherland” and “Silent Witness.”
Matt Lucas, the creator of “Little Britain,” paid tribute to Head in a post on X.
“I am very sad indeed to learn of the passing of Tony Head,” Lucas wrote. “When we were casting Little Britain, we were looking for a ‘Tony Head-type’, because we never imagined for a moment that the man himself would be interested, but he was. Lucky us. He was unfailingly brilliant, and always so kind and warm. My heart goes out to Daisy and Emily.”
Head’s film and period-drama credits included playing Geoffrey Howe in “The Iron Lady” and appearing in “Persuasion.” His later credits included a 2022 appearance in the second season of “Bridgerton.” In 2018, he joined BBC Radio 4’s long-running drama “The Archers” as Robin Fairbrother.
He also had a long stage career, performing in several productions of “The Rocky Horror Show” and in musicals including “Godspell” and “Chess.”
Head’s long-term partner, Sarah Fisher, an animal welfare campaigner, died in December 2025 at 61, the BBC reported. His daughters Emily, 37, and Daisy, 35, are both actors. Emily is known for playing Carli D’Amato in “The Inbetweeners,” while Daisy has appeared in series including “Harlots” and “Shadow and Bone.” His brother Murray Head is also an actor, with credits including the 1971 film “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and the musical “Chess.”
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