Anthony Head Dead at 72: How Sarah Michelle Gellar and Buffy the Vampire Slayer Family Honored Him
Tributes have poured in for the late Anthony Head, who was a beloved member of the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ted Lasso and more fan-favorite series.
Anthony Head, the British actor who brought Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s loyal mentor Giles to life onscreen, has died at the age of 72.
The actor’s daughters, Emily and Daisy Head, broke the sad news in a statement to the UK’s Press Association news agency on June 5, telling his fans and loved ones that he “passed away peacefully due to complications of 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,” they wrote. “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.”
Those exceptionally talented people include his Buffy costars, who remembered their late colleague and friend in touching messages posted to social media.
“There’s a hole in the World. Anthony Head has passed on from us,” James Marsters (Spike) wrote on Instagram. “He was an unflaggingly kind and steady presence on the set of Buffy, and the best actor in the cast. He was the best of us.”
“I was lucky to have known, and learned from him,” he continued. “He left the world a better place for his presence. Thank you Tony for all you gave."
In her remembrance post, Sarah Michelle Gellar looked to her vampire-fighting heroine to find fitting words.
“‘Tell Giles I figured it out and I’m ok,’” she wrote, quoting the message Buffy asked Dawn to relay before she threw herself into a portal in season five’s finale.
“Well, I don’t have it figured out and I’m not ok,” Gellar added. “But I know I’m the lucky one because I knew you. Thank you to Daisy and Emily who not only shared their dad with me, but with the world.”
“Tony brought life to a character who, for so many, was the father figure they needed but didn’t have at home,” Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia) added in a post of her own. “Fans far and wide are surely grieving, and for that, I am deeply sorry.”
Carpenter also shared her condolences for Head’s daughters, who she fondly remembered meeting on the set of Buffy.
“I have not seen them since,” she wrote, “but I hear they embody every bit of the love, kindness, and commitment to others that their parents did.”
“Tony was incredibly kind to everyone and to every living thing,” the actress added. “In fact, when ants once overtook my trailer at work, I asked the teamsters if they had any Raid to kill them. Tony suggested asking the ants to leave instead. I mean it when I say he respected every living thing. I can’t think of a finer example of a truly good human being.”
David Boreanaz, who portrayed Spike’s rival Angel, also remembered Head for his warmth and compassion.
“RIP,” the Bones actor wrote on his Instagram Stories, adding a praying emoji. “He was so kind and generous of a soul.”
Meanwhile, Emma Caulfield (Anya) shared a photo of her visiting Head in 2011 as he filmed one of his many notable post-Buffy projects.
“I went to visit my friend Tony on the set of The Iron Lady,” she recalled. “We had lunch, hit up a record store, had dinner and drinks and laughed until our sides hurt. It was a perfect day.”
“There were many of these moments with this amazing human who I was lucky enough to call my friend for 27 years,” Caulfield added in part. “He was kind and wise and a guide in troubled times. You were so loved. Impossible to caption. You are so missed.”
She closed her message with a reference to Head’s late partner, who passed away in 2025: “Rest in peace with your beautiful Sarah.”
