‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ actor Anthony Head dies at 72

By Mary Pat Thompson Jun 5, 2026 | 4:00 PM

Anthony Head attends the launch of a new attraction based on the hit BBC One drama series at Warwick Castle on April 13, 2011, in Warwick, Warwickshire. (Tony Woolliscroft/WireImage via Getty Images)

Anthony Head, the British actor known for his roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Ted Lasso, has died, the Associated Press reported Friday. He was 72.

His daughters, Emily Head and Daisy Head, told the Press Association news agency that their father died due to complications from pneumonia.

“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,” Emily Head and Daisy Head said in a statement. “How lucky we are to know we are able to watch him doing what he loved, even when he is no longer with us.”

Anthony Head was born in London on Feb. 20, 1954. He was predeceased by his longtime partner, animal welfare activist Sarah Fisher, in 2025.

The actor is known for his role as librarian Rupert Giles, who mentored Sarah Michelle Gellar’s titular character in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series ran from 1997 to 2003.

He is also known for playing Rupert Mannion, the ex-husband of Hannah Waddingham’s Rebecca, in the Apple TV comedy series Ted Lasso.

ABC News has reached out to Anthony Head’s representatives for confirmation.