Anthony Stewart Head
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Anthony Stewart Head (born February 20, 1954) is a British actor in theatre, television and films but most widely known for his role in the American television drama series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the role of Frank N Furter in the London revival of The Rocky Horror Show, and a series of coffee commercials in Britain and the US. In the UK, outside of Buffy, he is more commonly credited simply as Anthony Head, or occasionally Tony Head.
Born in Camden Town, London; his father was Seafield Head, the founder of Verity Films, and his mother was the actress Helen Shingler. His older brother is actor and singer, Murray Head. Anthony was educated at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). His first role was in the musical Godspell; this led to roles in television on both BBC and ITV and then a series of twelve coffee commercials with Sharon Maughan for Nescafé Gold Blend (re-edited to include the US brandname, Taster's Choice), which was what brought him fame. Success on the stage and a number of brief appearances on American TV such as the short-lived VR-5 led to accepting the role of Rupert Giles in Buffy in 1997, for which he lived full-time in the United States during the late 1990s and early 2000s, although his family continued to live in the UK.
In 2002, he returned to Britain and co-starred in the BBC Two television series Manchild, concerning four fifty-something men who spend all of their time talking about sex. He also appeared in guest roles in various other dramas, such as Silent Witness and Spooks, as well as returning to America periodically for substantial roles in the final two seasons of Buffy. He has also guested as the Prime Minister in popular BBC comedy sketch show Little Britain since 2003.
Outside of television work, he has released an album of songs with musician George Sarah entitled Music for Elevators. He appeared in a special webcast version of Doctor Who in a story called Death Comes to Time in which he plays the Time Lord Valentine, and guest starred in the Excelsis Trilogy, a series of audio adventures produced by Big Finish Productions.
Early in his career he provided vocals for some of the tracks on the Chris de Burgh album The Getaway and especially the reading from The Tempest on Don't Pay The Ferryman.
There is persistent talk of Head starring in a Buffy spin-off series for the BBC entitled Ripper, but so far nothing has come of this.
External links
- Official website (http://www.anthonyhead.org/)
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- Biographies of Giles and Head (http://www.buffyguide.com/players/giles.shtml) at "Buffyguide"