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Anthony Head | |
|---|---|
 Head at the 2007 Scream Awards | |
| Born | Anthony Stewart Head 20 February 1954 |
| Education | Sunbury Grammar School |
| Alma mater | London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Partner | Sarah Fisher (1982–present)[1] |
| Children | |
| Mother | Helen Shingler |
| Relatives | Murray Head (brother) |
| Website | anthonyhead |
Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February 1954)[1] is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, which led to major roles in several television series. He is best known for his roles as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003), the Prime Minister in Little Britain (2003–2006), Uther Pendragon in Merlin (2008–2012), and Rupert Mannion in Ted Lasso (2020–2023), as well as voicing Herc Shipwright in BBC Radio 4's Cabin Pressure.
Head was born in Camden Town, London. His father was Seafield Laurence Stewart Murray Head (20 August 1919 – 22 March 2009), a documentary filmmaker and a founder of Verity Films, and his mother was actress Helen Shingler (29 August 1919 – 8 October 2019); they married in 1944 in Watford. His older brother is actor/singer Murray Head. Both brothers have played the part of Freddie Trumper in the musical Chess at the Prince Edward Theatre, London, with Murray a part of the original cast in 1986, while Anthony was in the final cast in 1989.[2]
Head was educated at Sunbury Grammar School in Surrey,[1] and furthered his education studying acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).[3] In discussing why he chose acting as a career, in an interview in 2013 he said that "When it's in your family, it's a choice, it's there. It's not a jump to say: 'I want to act.' When I was six I was in a little show my mother's friends organised, playing the Emperor in The Emperor's New Clothes. I remember thinking: 'This is the business, this is what I want to do.'"[4]
One of his earlier roles was in the musical Godspell in 1978 with Su Pollard.[5] In the same year, Head made his television debut in the London Weekend Television series Enemy at the Door as Clive Martel, of the island resistance.[6]
In the early 1980s he provided backing vocals for the band Red Box.[7] He was featured as well on the album Face in the Window (1983) by Two Way.[8]
In the late 1980s, he gained wider recognition as the man in the Gold Blend couple series of coffee commercials, alongside Sharon Maughan, for Nescafé Gold Blend between 1987 and 1993.[9] (A version made for North America featured the American brand name Taster's Choice from 1990 to 1997).[9]
Head played Frank N. Furter in the 1990–91 West End revival of The Rocky Horror Show at London's Piccadilly Theatre, with Craig Ferguson as Brad Majors.[10] In 1991, Head's rendition of "Sweet Transvestite" was released as a single by Chrysalis Records.[11] Head played the role again in the summer of 1995 at London's Duke of York's Theatre, a May 2006 tribute show at London's Royal Court Theatre, and an October 2000 production at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada.[11]
In 1997, he took on the role of Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.[12] While playing this role he lived in the United States during the late 1990s and early 2000s, although his family continued to live in the UK. Head left the regular cast of Buffy during the show's sixth season and subsequently appeared several times as a guest star until the conclusion of the series.[13]
In 2002, he co-starred in the BBC Two television series Manchild, a show revolving around four friends approaching their fifties who try to recapture their fading youth and vitality while dealing with life as 'mature' men.[14] He also appeared in guest roles in various other dramas, such as Silent Witness, Murder Investigation Team and Spooks.[15] He appeared in the fourth series of the British hit sitcom My Family in 2003, playing one of the main characters' (Abi's) father in the episode "May the Best Man Win".[15] He was featured as the prime minister in the popular BBC comedy sketch show Little Britain from 2003 to 2005,[15] and guest starred in several episodes of the 2004 series of popular drama Monarch of the Glen.[15]
In 2001, he appeared in a special webcast version of Doctor Who,[15] a story called Death Comes to Time, in which he played the Time Lord Valentine. He also guest starred in the Excelis Trilogy, a series of Doctor Who audio adventures produced by Big Finish Productions, and in 2005 narrated the two-part documentary Project: WHO?, detailing the television revival of the series, for BBC Radio 2 (and released to CD in 2006 by BBC Audio). In April 2006 he appeared as a school's alien headmaster, Mr. Finch, in an episode of the second series entitled "School Reunion". Soon after, he recorded an abridged audio book of the Doctor Who novel The Nightmare of Black Island by Mike Tucker. He narrated the third and fourth series of Doctor Who Confidential. He also voiced the character Baltazar, Scourge of the Universe (an evil space pirate searching for the Infinite) in the first ever animated Doctor Who special, "The Infinite Quest".[15] Head had previously auditioned for the role of the Eighth Doctor for the 1996 television film, but lost out to Paul McGann.[15]
In early 2006, he appeared in an episode of Hotel Babylon,[15] a BBC One drama set in a hotel, in which he played a suicidal man who recovers and lands a music deal. The same year he filmed a pilot for a new show entitled Him and Us, loosely based on the life of openly gay rock star Elton John, for American TV channel ABC, co-starring Kim Cattrall. In July he appeared as Captain Hook at the Children's Party at the Palace, a live pantomime staged in the grounds of Buckingham Palace as part of Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday celebrations. In October 2006, he voiced Ponsonby, leader of MI6, in Destroy All Humans! 2.[15]
At San Diego Comic-Con in 2007, Joss Whedon said talks were almost completed for a 90-minute Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off, Ripper, as a BBC special,[16] with both Head and the BBC on board, though this has not come to fruition. In 2007, he portrayed Stockard Channing's gay brother in the English film Sparkle,[12] and appeared as Mr. Colubrine in the ITV1 comedy drama Sold.[15] Head also appeared as Sir Walter Elliot in Persuasion.[17] Head also narrated a BBC behind-the-scenes programme for the American television series Heroes,[12] Heroes Unmasked.[15] He has also been seen as Maurice Riley in the BBC drama The Invisibles alongside Warren Clarke.[15]
After seeing Anthony Head in the Buffy musical episode, "Once More With Feeling", Saw director Darren Lynn Bousman cast him in his 21st century rock opera, Repo! The Genetic Opera.[18] Head portrays an organ repossessor, employed by a fictional dystopian medical firm; "Anthony Head was my number one choice for Repo Man from the very beginning", said Bousman in an interview[18] shortly before the film's release on 7 November 2008. The film also stars Sarah Brightman and Paris Hilton.
Head has also performed for radio, taking two of the lead roles—arch-villain Mr. Gently Benevolent, and his descendant, journalist Jeremy Sourquill—in the BBC Radio 4 comedy series, Bleak Expectations (five series, 2007–12). He also had a significant recurring role in the last two series (2011–13) of the Radio 4 sitcom Cabin Pressure as Hercules Shipwright, a romantic interest for the airline CEO played by Stephanie Cole, and returned for show's two-part finale in 2014.
Head was part of the regular cast of the BBC drama series Merlin, about the mythical wizard Merlin.[19] Head played King Uther Pendragon, the father of Prince Arthur.
Head also provided voice-over work for the Nintendo Wii video game Flip's Twisted World, developed by Frozen North Productions.[20] For his acting in the film Despite the Falling Snow he won the Best Supporting Actor award at the 2016 Prague Independent Film Festival.[21] In July 2018 Head was added to the cast of long-running BBC radio soap-opera The Archers, playing Robin Fairbrother, member of a family with several past and current connections to the Archers themselves.
From 2019, he played Bill in 4 episodes of Motherland with Anna Maxwell Martin and Diane Morgan.[12] From 2020 to 2023, he played former Richmond F.C owner Rupert Mannion, in Ted Lasso alongside Jason Sudeikis and Hannah Waddingham.[15] For his role in the final season, Head was nominated alongside the rest of the cast for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.[22]
Head reprised his role as Giles in the Audible exclusive audio series Slayers: A Buffyverse Story alongside his former Buffy co-stars James Marsters, Charisma Carpenter, Amber Benson, Juliet Landau, Emma Caulfield Ford, James Charles Leary and Danny Strong. The series was released in October 2023.[23]
Head lives in Bath, Somerset, with his partner, Sarah Fisher. They have two daughters, Emily and Daisy, both of whom are actresses.[1]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Lady Chatterley's Lover | Anton | |
| 1987 | A Prayer for the Dying | Rupert | |
| 1988 | La Collina del diavolo | Michael Toyle | |
| 1992 | Woof Again! Why Me? | Direct-to-video release | |
| 2003 | I'll Be There | Sam Gervasi | |
| 2004 | Fat Slags | Victor | |
| 2005 | Framing Frankie | Dennis Folley | |
| Imagine Me & You | Ned | ||
| 2006 | Scoop | Detective | |
| Little Britain Live | Prime Minister | Direct-to-video release | |
| 2007 | Sparkle | Tony | |
| The Magic Door | George | Direct-to-video release | |
| Amelia and Michael | Michael | Short | |
| Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Gentleman in Street | Uncredited role Cameo appearance | |
| 2008 | Repo! The Genetic Opera | Nathan Wallace/Repo Man | |
| 2011 | The Great Ghost Rescue | Prime Minister | |
| The Inbetweeners Movie | Will's Father | ||
| Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance | Benedict | ||
| The Iron Lady | Geoffrey Howe | ||
| 2013 | Underdogs | Adult Flash | Voice[25] |
| Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters | Chiron | ||
| Convenience | Barry | ||
| 2014 | Flying Home | Mr. Montgomery | |
| 2016 | Despite the Falling Snow | Old Misha | |
| A Street Cat Named Bob | Jack Bowen | ||
| 2018 | Batman: Gotham by Gaslight | Alfred Pennyworth | Voice, direct-to-video[25] |
| 2021 | School's Out Forever | Headmaster | |
| Let the Wrong One In | Henry | ||
| 2024 | Upgraded | Julian Marx | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Enemy at the Door | Clive Martel | 2 episodes |
| Lillie | William Le Breton | ITV miniseries | |
| Accident | Simon Lovell | Episode: "The Figures Man" | |
| 1979 | Jackanory Playhouse | Spare | Episode: "The Christmas Cuckoo" |
| The Mallens | Weir | 2 episodes | |
| Secret Army | Hanslick | Episode: "A Safe Place" | |
| 1980 | Love in a Cold Climate | Tony Kroesig | 3 episodes |
| 1981 | Crown Court | Timothy Preston-Berry | Episode: "Hen Party" |
| Bergerac | Bill | Episode: "See You in Moscow" | |
| BBC2 Playhouse | Chief Hook | Episode: "The Grudge Fight" | |
| 1984, 1988 | The Comic Strip Presents... | Ricki Recording Studio Engineer |
2 episodes |
| 1985 | C.A.T.S. Eyes | James Sinden | Episode: "Goodbye, Jenny Wren" |
| Howards' Way | Phil Norton | 5 episodes | |
| 1987 | Boon | Richard Rathbone | Episode: "Day of the Yoke" |
| 1988 | Pulaski | Dudley Fielding | Episode: "The Price of Fame" |
| Rockliffe's Babies | Chris Patterson | Episode: "A Trip to the Zoo" | |
| 1989 | Hard Cases | DC 'Spider' Webb | Season 2, episode 6 |
| 1991 | Woof! | Bentley | 2 episodes |
| 1993 | The Detectives | Simon | Episode: "Acting Constables" |
| Highlander: The Series | Allan Rothwood | Episode: "Nowhere to Run" | |
| 1994 | Royce | Pitlock | Showtime television film |
| 1995 | VR.5 | Oliver Sampson | 10 episodes |
| The Ghostbusters of East Finchley | Terry | 2 episodes | |
| NYPD Blue | Nigel Gibson | Episode: "Cold Heaters" | |
| 1996 | Roger Roger | Jimmy Price | Television film |
| 1997 | Jonathan Creek | Adam Klaus | Episode: "The Wrestler's Tomb" |
| 1997–2003 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Rupert Giles | 121 episodes Main role (seasons 1–5); recurring role (seasons 6–7) |
| 1999 | Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place | Dr Staretski | Episode: "Two Guys, a Girl and a Mother's Day" |
| 2000 | Best Actress | Colin Truemans | E! television film |
| 2001 | Silent Witness | Henry Hutton | Episode: "Two Below Zero" |
| 2002 | Spooks | Peter Salter | Episode: "Traitor's Gate" |
| Fillmore! | Professor Third | Voice, 2 episodes[25] | |
| 2002–2003 | Manchild | James | 15 episodes |
| 2003 | And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself | William Benton | HBO television film |
| Reversals | Andrew Barton | ITV television film | |
| 2003, 2005 | My Family | Richard Harper / Himself | 2 episodes |
| 2003–2006 | Little Britain | Michael Stevens | 23 episodes |
| 2004 | True Horror with Anthony Head | Presenter | 5 episodes |
| New Tricks | Sir Tim | Episode: "Painting on Loan" | |
| Monarch of the Glen | Chester Grant | 4 episodes | |
| 2005 | Murder Investigation Team | Stewart Masters | Season 2, episode 2 |
| Rose and Maloney | David Terry | Episode: "Annie Johnson" | |
| 2006 | Hotel Babylon | Mr. Machin | Season 1, episode 2 |
| Doctor Who | Mr. Finch | Episode: "School Reunion" | |
| Children's Party at the Palace | Captain Hook | BBC television special | |
| Him and Us | Max Flash | Unsold television pilot | |
| 2007 | Comic Relief 2007: The Big One | Various | Television special |
| Persuasion | Sir Walter Elliot | Television film | |
| Totally Doctor Who | Baltazar | Voice role in The Infinite Quest | |
| Sensitive Skin | Tom Paine | 2 episodes | |
| Sold | Mr. Colubrine | 6 episodes | |
| 2007–2008 | Heroes Unmasked | Narrator | Series 1 & 2 |
| 2007–2009 | Doctor Who Confidential | Narrator | 30 episodes |
| 2008 | Freezing | Lindsay Posner | Season 1, episode 2 |
| The Invisibles | Maurice Riley | BBC One series | |
| 2008–2012 | Merlin | Uther Pendragon | 43 episodes |
| 2009 | Free Agents | Stephen Caudwell | Channel 4 TV series |
| 2011–2012 | Free Agents | Stephen | NBC TV series (US remake of the Channel 4 series of the same name) |
| 2013 | Dancing on the Edge | Donaldson | BBC Two series |
| NTSF:SD:SUV:: | Corningham | Episode: "U-KO'ed" | |
| 2013–2014 | Warehouse 13 | Paracelsus | 4 episodes |
| 2013–2015 | You, Me & Them | Ed Walker | UKTV Gold series |
| 2014–2015 | Dominion | David Whele | Main cast |
| 2015 | Galavant | Galavant's Father[26] | Episode: "My Cousin Izzy" |
| 2015–2016 | Yonderland | Nigel Maddox | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | Drunk History | Admiral Horatio Nelson, Alexander Graham Bell | 2 episodes |
| Guilt | James Lahue | 5 episodes | |
| 2017 | Still Star-Crossed | Lord Silvestro Capulet | Series regular |
| Shadowhunters | Angel Raziel | Voice, episode: "Beside Still Water" | |
| 2018 | Girlfriends | John | 5 episodes |
| The Split | Oscar Defoe | 6 episodes | |
| Vanity Fair | Lord Steyne | 3 episodes | |
| 2019 | Jack Ryan | Rupert Thorne | 2 episodes |
| 2019–2022 | Motherland | Bill | 4 episodes |
| 2020 | The Stranger | Ed Price | 8 episodes |
| The Big Night In | Michael Stevens | TV special | |
| Robot Chicken | Rupert Giles / Albus Dumbledore | Voice, episode: "Endgame" | |
| 2020–2023 | Ted Lasso | Rupert Mannion | Recurring role (season 1); guest (season 2); regular (season 3) |
| 2021 | Back | Charismatic Mike | Season 2, episode 2 |
| Feel Good | George Senior | 2 episodes | |
| Adventure Time: Distant Lands | Wizard Con | Voice, episode: "Wizard City" | |
| The Canterville Ghost | Sir Simon de Canterville | 4 episodes | |
| 2022 | Bridgerton | Lord Sheffield | Episode: "An Unthinkable Fate" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–2012 | Bleak Expectations | Gently Benevolent & Jeremy Sourquill | |
| 2010 | Ghost Stories by Walter de la Mare | The Reader | Episode 4 of 5: "A Recluse" |
| 2011–2014 | Cabin Pressure | Herc Shipwright | 7 episodes |
| 2012 | Clayton Grange | Saunders | |
| 2013 | Neverwhere | Mr. Croup | |
| 2018 | The Archers | Robin Fairbrother |
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Venue | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Henry V | Duke of Clarence | Fred Proud | Ludlow Castle | ||
| 1980 | Julius Caesar | Artemidorus | Peter Gill | Riverside Studios | ||
| Fear of the Dark | Robert Slade | Walter Donohue | Royal Court Theatre | Press night | ||
| 1981 | Godspell | Light of the World | Stuart Mungall | Young Vic | ||
| 1982 | The Prince of Homburg | Captain Golz | John Burgess | Royal National Theatre | ||
| 1982–1984 | Danton's Death | Sans-culottes / Young Gentleman / La Flotte | Peter Gill | |||
| 1983 | A Patriot for Me | Lt Stefan Kovacs / Kupfer’s Second / Deputy | Ronald Eyre | Chichester Festival Theatre | ||
| Theatre Royal Haymarket | ||||||
| 1985–1986 | Yonadab | Absalom | Peter Hall | Royal National Theatre | [10] | |
| 1988–1989 | Chess | Freddie Trumper | Trevor Nunn | Prince Edward Theatre | World premiere | |
| 1989–1990 | Lady Windermere's Fan | Lord Darlington | Anthony Ward | Bristol Old Vic | ||
| 1990–1991 | The Rocky Horror Show | Dr. Frank-N-Furter | Robin Lefevre | Piccadilly Theatre | [27] | |
| 1992 | The Heiress | Morris Townsend | John David | — | Tour | [28] |
| 1992–1993 | Rope | Rupert Cadell | Keith Baxter | Minerva Theatre, Chichester | [29] | |
| 1994 | — | Tour | [30] | |||
| 2003–2004 | Peter Pan | Captain Hook | Steven Dexter | Savoy Theatre | [31] | |
| 2004 | The Pirates of Penzance | The Pirate King | [31] | |||
| 2005–2006 | Otherwise Engaged | Jeff Golding | Simon Curtis | — | Tour | [32] |
| 2006 | The Rocky Horror Tribute Show | Dr. Frank-N-Furter | Royal Court Theatre | Charity show | [33] | |
| 2010 | Six Degrees of Separation | Flan Kittredge | David Grindley | The Old Vic | [34] | |
| 2015 | Rocky Horror Show Live | Fourth Narrator | Christopher Luscombe | Playhouse Theatre | [35] | |
| Ticking | Edward (Simon's father) | Paul Andrew Williams | Trafalgar Studios | World premiere | [36] | |
| 2017 | Love In Idleness | Sir John Fletcher | Trevor Nunn | Menier Chocolate Factory | [37] | |
| 2018 | The Muppets Take the O2 | Himself | Andrew Williams | The O2 Arena | [38] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Destroy All Humans! 2 | Reginald Ponsonby-Smythe | [25] |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Best Supporting Actor on Television | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Nominated | [39] |
| 2007 | Monte-Carlo TV Festival | Best Performance by an Actor - Television Films | Persuasion | Nominated | [40] |
| 2016 | Prague Independent Film Festival | Best Supporting Actor | Despite the Falling Snow | Won | [41] |
| 2021 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | Ted Lasso | Won | [42] |
| 2024 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Nominated | [43] |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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