Anthony Head, ‘Buffy’ and ‘Ted Lasso’ star, dies at 72

Anthony Head, the British character actor whose four-decade career stretched from London’s West End to cult American television, died Friday. He was 72.

His daughters, Emily and Daisy Head, announced the news in a statement to the BBC, saying their father had “passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by his family.”

Mr. Head was best known to American audiences as Rupert Giles, the Watcher and father figure to the Slayer Buffy Summers, a role he played across all seven seasons of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar. He later introduced himself to a new generation of fans on Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso,” where he played Rupert Mannion, the vindictive former owner of AFC Richmond who relinquishes control of the club to his ex-wife, played by Hannah Waddingham.

His other television credits included the fictional Prime Minister in the BBC sketch comedy “Little Britain” and Uther Pendragon — Arthur’s father — in the fantasy series “Merlin.” He also appeared in the Margaret Thatcher biopic “The Iron Lady,” playing Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe opposite Meryl Streep, according to Deadline.

Though primarily recognized for his screen work, Mr. Head began his career in the theater, appearing in the musical “Godspell” in the late 1970s before going on to stage productions of “Chess,” “Peter Pan” and “Rocky Horror Show Live.” Before breaking through on television, he became a recognizable face in Britain as the star of a long-running series of Nescafe commercials that aired from 1987 to 1993, according to Variety.

Mr. Head is survived by his daughters, both actors themselves. His longtime partner, Sarah Fisher, died last year.

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