WHETHER it was brewing the perfect cuppa in the Nescafé ads or guiding Buffy the Vampire Slayer through Hellmouth, Anthony Head captivated audiences with his versatility.
Tragically, the British actor’s family announced yesterday that he had “passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia,” aged 72.
It comes just six months after Anthony — best known globally for his roles in supernatural series Buffy and comedy-drama Ted Lasso — lost his long-term partner Sarah Fisher, to cancer.
For older viewers, Anthony was already a familar face in the late Eighties as the heartthrob in the Nescafé Gold Blend adverts, starring Sharon Maughan as his love interest.
The 12-part “will they, won’t they” saga ran from 1987 to 1992 and thrilled the nation, turning the coffee commercial into a prime-time soap opera filled with cliffhangers.
When the couple finally got together at the end of the five years, it even made The Sun’s front page.
Yesterday, in a statement released by his daughters — Emily, who starred in The Inbetweeners, and Harlots’ actress Daisy — said: “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our extraordinary father, Anthony Head. 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 first-hand the impact his work has 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.”
Anthony’s parents — Seafield, a documentary filmmaker, and actress Helen — ensured his life was steeped in the arts from early on.
Born in London in 1954, he became an artist who refused to be boxed in. He once said: “I’m fortunate because people can’t put a label on me, which I embrace wholeheartedly.”
Known for his distinctive baritone voice, Anthony won minor TV roles in his twenties, including World World Two drama Enemy At The Door. He was 33 when he landed the Nescafé commercial, which continues to be one of the best-known examples of serialised advertising to this day.
Playing Rupert Giles, the tweed-wearing mentor to Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy throughout the show’s seven-season run, from 1997 to 2003, made Anthony a household name in the US.
When the series ended, he went on to showcase his brilliant comedic timing as a long-suffering Prime Minister in Little Britain alongside David Walliams’ infatuated character Sebastian Love.
He then played a villainous alien headmaster in Doctor Who and lent his velvety voice to accompanying documentary series Doctor Who Confidential.
Between 2008 and 2012, Anthony starred as the ruthless and magic-banning King of Camelot in the BBC’s Merlin, which introduced him to a new generation of fantasy fans.
Over the years he has also starred in Manchild — billed as the male Sex And The City — New Tricks, Silent Witness, Spooks, My Family, film Repo! The Genetic Opera and, in 2022, as Lord Sheffield in Netflix’s Bridgerton.
But, most recently, Anthony was back on our screens as former Richmond FC owner Rupert Mannion in Apple TV+’s smash hit, Ted Lasso.
The ruthless billionaire and ex-husband of Hannah Waddingham’s character Rebecca was in great contrast to Anthony’s gentler former roles.
His acting talents were not limited to TV and film, though. Anthony joined the cast of Radio 4’s long-running soap opera, The Archers, in 2018, as Robin Fairbrother. And he also appeared in West End shows including Six Degrees Of Separation, Peter Pan, and Rocky Horrow Show Live.
Showbiz runs in his family. As well as his two actor daughters, Anthony’s older brother Murray had chart success with 1980s mega-hit One Night In Bangkok and sang Jesus Christ Superstar’s title track Superstar.
Anthony may have poured his last cup of coffee and closed the spellbook for good, but for fans worldwide, his legacy lives on.
