Buffy mourns Giles: Anthony Head is dead
The British actor from the cult series was 72 years old. Sarah Michelle Gellar is devastated.
The universe of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is in mourning.
Anthony Head, the British actor who played Buffy Summers’ mentor and surrogate father Rupert Giles, has died at the age of 72.
The sad news was announced by his daughters, Emily Head and Daisy Head, in a statement sent to the BBC. They specified that their father had “passed away peacefully following complications linked to pneumonia, surrounded by his family.”
Anthony Head will forever be associated with the character of Giles, the famous Slayer Watcher, whom he played during seven seasons of the cult series alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar.
More recently, a new generation of spectators discovered him in Ted Lasso, where he played Rupert Mannion, the manipulative ex-owner of the AFC Richmond football club.
During his career, the actor also made an impression in Merlin, where he played Uther Pendragon, as well as in the comedy series Little Britain.
In their tribute, his daughters saluted a man passionate about his profession: “It was and always will be an honor and a privilege to be his daughters. We were able to see with our own eyes the impact he had on so many people through his work. He loved his profession and considered himself extremely lucky to have been able to work with so many talents in such wonderful productions for several decades.”
Very touched, Sarah Michelle Gellar also reacted on Instagram. Using a famous line from Buffy, she wrote:
“Tell Giles I understand and everything is okay.” Before adding: “Well, I don’t understand anything and I’m not doing well. But I know that I was lucky to know you. Thank you to Daisy and Emily for sharing their father with me, but also with the whole world.”
For a whole generation of viewers, Anthony Head will remain this benevolent guide who watched over Buffy in the shadow of libraries and demons. A figure who has become inseparable from one of the most influential series of the 1990s and 2000s.
