Anthony Stewart Head, best known for playing Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, passed away at the age of 72 from complications of pneumonia. He is survived by his older brother Murray and his daughters Emily and Daisy. His longtime partner Sarah Fisher died in December 2025.
His daughters released a statement announcing his death:
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our extraordinary father. He 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.
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.
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. How lucky we are to know we are able to watch him doing what he loved, even when he is no longer with us. We kindly ask that our privacy is respected at this difficult time.”
Anthony studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and began his professional acting career in the theater, appearing in productions of Henry V, Julius Caesar, Godspell, and Chess. His brother Murray starred in the original West End cast of Chess (you may remember Murray’s rendition of One Night in Bangkok which went #1 in several countries) and Anthony played the same role in the closing cast.
In the late 80s, he gained widespread recognition for starring in a series of Nescafe/Taster’s Choice commercials. He played Frank N. Furter in the 1990 West End revival of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (opposite Craig Ferguson playing Brad Majors) and his version of Sweet Transvestite was released as a single. He reprised the role in several productions (1995, 2000, 2006).
He spent seven seasons playing Buffy’s watcher/father figure on BtVS. His post-Buffy credits included Merlin and Ted Lasso. He described his partner Sarah as “the most influential person in my life” and credited her for much of his career success. “When securing work was hard after a [famous Nescafe] coffee ad, it was Sarah who said I should test the water in America and change people’s perceptions of me, and that she would stay with the girls. An extraordinary sacrifice.”
Anthony moved to the United States to film Buffy while Sarah stayed in the UK with their daughters Emily and Daisy. The first episode aired a week before Daisy’s 6th birthday. “I have a lovely relationship with Emily and Daisy, amazingly, given that for eight years I was away from them for months on end,” he said. “We took every opportunity to be together, they would come to LA, the crew and cast of Buffy were their friends and Sarah Michelle [Gellar] and Alyson [Hannigan] were like sisters to them. I’d always say, ‘I can leave Buffy if you want me to, if this is too difficult,’ but they both said no, it’s too cool a show.”
