Anthony Head, the British actor known for Ted Lasso and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has died at 72. His daughters Emily and Daisy said he passed away peacefully from complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by family.
Anthony Head’s family announced his death at the age of 72, and the news landed with a quiet finality—one that his daughters described as peaceful, but still heavy with grief.
Emily and Daisy, his daughters, released a statement to BBC News. They wrote that their father “passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia. surrounded by his family.” They added. “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our extraordinary father. 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.”.
Head was best known in popular culture for his work on two major series. On Ted Lasso, he played Rupert Mannion, the ex-husband of Rebecca Welton, portrayed by Hannah Waddingham. In the show’s first season. Rupert Mannion’s actions pushed Rebecca toward vengeance as she tried to take down the football team.
He also carried a long-running role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. From 1997 to 2003, Anthony Head played Rupert Giles, Buffy’s watcher.
Beyond those two landmark parts, Head appeared across film and television in a range of projects, including The Iron Lady, Underdogs, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, Let the Wrong One in, Little Britain, Docto Who Confidential, Merlin, The Canterville Ghost and Bridgerton.
The timeline of recent loss is part of what makes this moment so painful. Head was in a relationship with Sarah Fisher, an animal welfare activist, and she died in December 2025.
His life and career were also rooted in family. He followed into acting after his father, Seafield Laurence Stewart Murray Head, worked as a documentary filmmaker and founded Verity Films. His mother was the actress Helen Shingler.
A note of the scale of Head’s impact runs through his daughters’ message: his work, they said, had reached “so many,” even as his family now faces the reality of saying goodbye.
Anthony Head Ted Lasso Buffy the Vampire Slayer Rupert Mannion Rupert Giles pneumonia Emily and Daisy Head Sarah Fisher Bridgerton The Iron Lady
Damn, pneumonia is no joke. RIP Anthony.
So sad. I feel like he was part of my childhood with Buffy, even though Ted Lasso came way later. Complications from pneumonia… my grandpa had that and it was like over in a week. Praying for his family.
Wait, isn’t Anthony Head the one who played like a British detective? Or am I mixing him up with someone else? Either way, I saw Ted Lasso and he seemed healthy, so how does pneumonia just get him at 72?? Also Sarah Fisher died last year? That’s wild. Tragic timing.
Pneumonia again, feels like it’s always pneumonia with older celebrities. I didn’t even know he was 72, I thought he was older or younger? Emily and Daisy’s statement was kinda beautiful but also confusing with the weird punctuation like the article got messed up. Either way, condolences. I’m surprised there’s no mention of treatments or anything, like was it sudden or what?