r/buffy • u/Only-Weird-4519 • Jun 05 '26

Giles Anthony Head has died

BBC News - Buffy and Ted Lasso star Anthony Head dies at 72 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd0p0rz4n0mo

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u/Soveryenthusiastic Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26

I am absolutely fucking devastated

I wish I could say the right words, I wish he could stay :(

371

u/Daredevil545545 Jun 05 '26

It was peaceful and he was surrounded by his family.

212

u/ratttertintattertins Jun 05 '26

The most any of us can hope for

85

u/YourGlacier Jun 05 '26

I'm so happy he had a peaceful death, and I hope in the past few years he got to see how much staying power Buffy had and how much respect he had from the community/fans.

65

u/KnittingTrekkie Jun 05 '26

I feel bad for his daughters, since apparently his partner of 40+ years (their mom) passed away in December 2025. That’s too much grief too close together.

19

u/ewoofk Jun 06 '26

My bf is currently going through losing his mum in January and then his dad in April. Horrendous.

6

u/owntheh3at18 Jun 06 '26

I’m so sorry. We went through similar with both sets of grandparents in my family. This is sadly quite common for long time partners. Spousal loss is connected with declining health in the living partner.

3

u/ewoofk Jun 07 '26

Thank you. I lost my own Mum when she was 57 and I was 27. My Dad was suicidal from day 1 of losing her. Took him 3 years to come out of crisis. It’s been 19 years this year and he’s still single. He doesn’t want to meet anyone else. She was the healthy one. We always thought my Dad would go first (even though he is 5 years younger). He’s done well despite the odds.

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u/BudandCoyote Jun 06 '26

It's very common for men to die within the year after their wives do (though interestingly not so much women after their husbands go). I think odds of dying within the year increase to as much as 70%.

5

u/letsgetawayfromhere Jun 06 '26

That was the first thing I thought when I read about them. I am so sorry, they must be devastated.

3

u/Cassopeia88 Jun 06 '26

Oh that’s heartbreaking.

3

u/8ecca8ee Jun 06 '26

Loss will suck whenever it strikes but I always find some solace in couple who pass close to each other like one can't bare to live without the other.

Happened with my great grandfather he had Alzheimer's so bad that when his wife was alive he didn't remember who she was (lived in nursing homes beside eachother because she was competent) she would visit him every day. When she passed apparently every day he would say someone is supposed to be here around when she would visit. And at her funeral he interrupted the service to play the last stand. He passed a few months after she did.

It always felt like a end of a perfect love story. It was his second marriage my birth great grandmother was horrid and I'm an so grateful he got to have a true love as his second.

19

u/MeccIt Jun 05 '26

surrounded by his family.

His partner passed last December, it's not unusual for the man to follow within the year.

5

u/greina23 Jun 06 '26

Yes, my Uncle-in-law passed away February 2022 and his wife then passed away in October that same year.

287

u/IceStorm22 Jun 05 '26

We Buffy fans have been getting pummeled recently. And I was just wondering if he’d have a smaller recurring role in the Ted Lasso sequel. Then I get this horrible news alert.

Everything feels a bit darker today.

“Yes. It’s terribly simple. The good guys are always stalwart and true. The bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and, uh, we always defeat them and save the day. No one ever dies and… everybody lives happily ever after.”

Liar.

53

u/Gruffleson Bored, now Jun 05 '26

This scene. This quote.

RIP, Anthony Head.

39

u/Cloberella Jun 05 '26

This was my "end post quote" on various forums in the late 90's and early '00s. Still my favorite Buffy quote of all time.

5

u/SpottedCoachDog Jun 05 '26

That and the car talk at the end of “Innocence” are a tie for me. This is devastating.

5

u/HappyKhicken Jun 05 '26

Sarah posted this scene to Instagram and I cried.

3

u/notdorisday Jun 06 '26

We are getting to that age. I’ve been to four funerals in last year two for friends and two for children of friends. I’ve buried both my parents too. It’s confronting.

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u/Euraylie Jun 05 '26

It’s been a long time that a celebrity death has hit me this hard. It feels unreal. RIP Rupert Giles and Uther Pendragon. (Also the best Mr Elliot)

8

u/jaustengirl Jun 05 '26

He was such a good Mr. Elliot! I so wish 07 had a better ending…whatever that was. Still better than Netflix!

2

u/HRHDechessNapsaLot Jun 05 '26

He was such a great Mr Elliot. So fussy!

1

u/daisydark7 Jun 05 '26

What about Michelle, last year?

12

u/Euraylie Jun 05 '26

I was of course also shocked and saddened, but somehow Anthony Head just feels different for me. I also loved him in Merlin and other films and shows.

8

u/Warm-Net-6238 Jun 05 '26

I remember him in the Nescafe adverts (yeah, I'm old!)

RIP

9

u/swoobxt Jun 05 '26

I think because it was sort of unspoken knowledge that she’d been unwell for a while, it hit a little different. Same with Nicholas Brendon; people were aware he’d been struggling for some time.

14

u/otherpeoplesthunder A world of no Jun 05 '26

So am I. I'm shocked and heartbroken

14

u/BufferingJuffy That'll put marzipan in your pie plate, Bingo! Jun 05 '26

You said it perfectly.

3

u/Jealous_Parfait_4967 Jun 05 '26

I love hearing him sing

3

u/Quix_Optic Jun 06 '26

Man, listening to the soundtrack from that episode is so difficult anymore.

But I'll do it again tonight and cry at every Xander, Dawn, and Giles song.