Anthony Head Biography

Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February 1954) is an English actor and musician. He rose to fame in the UK following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescaf Gold Blend, and is known for his roles as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Uther Pendragon in Merlin, the Prime Minister in Little Britain, and as Herc Shipwright in BBC Radio 4's Cabin Pressure.

Early life

Head was born in Camden Town, London. His father was Seafield Laurence Stewart Murray Head (1919-2009), a documentary filmmaker and a founder of Verity Films, and his mother is actress Helen Shingler. They had married in 1944 in Watford. His older brother is actor and 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, whilst Anthony was in the final cast in 1989.

Career

Head was educated at Sunbury Grammar School and London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).

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.'

His first role was in the musical Godspell; this led to roles in television on both BBC and ITV, one of his earliest being an appearance in the series Enemy at the Door (ITV, 1978-1980). In the early 1980s he provided backing vocals for the band Red Box. In the late 1980s, he appeared in a storyline series of twelve coffee commercials with Sharon Maughan for Nescaf Gold Blend. (A version made for North America featured the American brand name Taster's Choice.) The soap opera nature of the commercials brought him wider recognition, along with a part in the Children's ITV comedy drama Woof!

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. In 1991 Head's rendition of "Sweet Transvestite" was released as a single by Chrysalis Records. Head played the role again in the summer of 1995 at London's Duke of York's Theatre, a 3 May 2006 tribute show at London's Royal Court Theatre, and a 14 October 2000 production at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Success on the stage and a number of brief appearances on American television, such as in the short-lived VR.5, led to accepting the role of Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1997. For this role he lived full-time 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 through the conclusion of the series. In many interviews at the time, Head said he left the show to spend more time with his family, having realised that he had spent most of the year outside Britain, which added up to more than half his youngest daughter's life.

Early to mid-2000s

In 2002, he co-starred in the BBC Two television series Manchild, a show centred around four friends approaching their fifties who try to recapture their fading youth and vitality while dealing with life as 'mature' men. He also appeared in guest roles in various other dramas, such as Silent Witness, Murder Investigation Team, and Spooks. He appeared in the 4th series of the British hit sitcom My Family in 2003 playing one of the main character's (Abi's) father in the episode "May the Best Man Win". He was featured as the Prime Minister in the popular BBC comedy sketch show Little Britain from 2003 to 2005, and guest starred in several episodes of the 2004 series of popular drama Monarch of the Glen.

Outside of television work, he has released an album of songs with musician George Sarah entitled Music for Elevators. Early in his career he provided vocals for some of the tracks on the Chris de Burgh album The Getaway and the reading from The Tempest on Don't Pay the Ferryman.

In 2001, he appeared in a special webcast version of Doctor Who, 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". Head had previously auditioned for the role of the Eighth Doctor for the 1996 television film, but lost out to Paul McGann.

In early 2006, he appeared in an episode of Hotel Babylon, 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.

2000s

At Comic-Con International in 2007, Joss Whedon said talks were almost completed for a 90-minute Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off, Ripper, as a BBC special, with both Head and the BBC on board.

In 2007, he portrayed Stockard Channing's gay brother in the English film Sparkle and appeared as Mr Colubrine in the ITV1 comedy drama Sold. Head also appeared as Sir Walter Elliot in Persuasion. Head also narrated a BBC behind-the-scenes programme for the American television series Heroes, Heroes Unmasked. He has also been seen as Maurice Riley in the BBC Drama The Invisibles alongside Warren Clarke.

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. 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 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, which derives its title from the mythical wizard of the same name. Head played King Uther Pendragon, the father of Prince Arthur.

2010s

Head also provides voice-over work in the Nintendo Wii video game, Flip's Twisted World, developed by Frozen North Productions.

For his acting in the film Despite the Falling Snow he won the Best Supporting Actor award at the 2016 Prague Independent Film Festival.

Personal life

Head lives with his partner Sarah Fisher and has two daughters, Emily, born in December 1988, and Daisy, born in 1991, both of whom are actresses.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Lady Chatterley's Lover	Anton
1987	'	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
2005	Imagine Me & You	Ned
2006	Scoop	Detective
2006	Little Britain Live	Prime Minister	Direct-to-video release
2007	Sparkle	Tony
2007	The Magic Door	George	Direct-to-video release
2007	Amelia and Michael	Michael
2007	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
2011	'	Will's Father
2011	'	Geoffrey Howe
2012	Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance	Benedict
2013	Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters	Chiron
2013	Underdogs	Adult Flash
2014	Flying Home	Colin's father
2016	A Street Cat Named Bob	Nigel Bowen
2016	Despite the Falling Snow	Old Misha

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Enemy at the Door	Clive Martel	Episode: "Steel Hand from the Sea"
1978	Lillie	William Le Breton	ITV miniseries
1978	Accident	Simon Lovell	Episode: "The Figures Man"
1979	'	Weir	Episode: 1.1 Episode: 1.2
1979	Secret Army	Hanslick	Episode: "A Safe Place"
1980	Love in a Cold Climate	Tony Kroesig	Thames Television
1981	Crown Court	Timothy Preston-Berry	Episode: "Hen Party"
1981	Bergerac	Bill	Episode: "See You in Moscow"
1984-88	'	Ricki Recording Studio Engineer	Episodes: "Slags", "More Bad News"
1985	C.A.T.S. Eyes	James Sinden	Episode: "Goodbye, Jenny Wren"
1985	Howards' Way	Phil Norton	5 episodes
1987	Boon	Richard Rathbone	Episode: "Day of the Yoke"
1988	Pulaski	Dudley Fielding	Episode: "The Price of Fame"
1988	Rockliffe's Babies	Chris Patterson	Episode: "A Trip to the Zoo"
1991	Woof!	Bentley	Episode: 3.7 Episode: 3.8
1993	'	Simon	Episode: "Acting Constables"
1993	Highlander: The Series	Allan Rothwood	Episode: "Nowhere to Run"
1994	Royce	Pitlock	Showtime television film
1995	VR.5	Oliver Sampson	Episodes: 5-13
1995	Ghostbusters of East Finchley	Terry	Episode: 1.5
1995	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 1997-2001, Special Guest 2002-03) Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television
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"
2002	Fillmore!	Professor Third	Episode: "Red Robins Don't Fly", "A Cold Day at X"
2002-03	Manchild	James	15 episodes
2003	My Family	Richard Harper	Episode: "May the Best Man Win"
2003	And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself	William Benton	HBO television film
2003	Reversals	Andrew Barton	ITV television film
2003-06	Little Britain	Michael Stevens	23 episodes
2004	True Horror with Anthony Head	Presenter	Episodes: 1-5
2004	New Tricks	Sir Tim	Episode: 1.2
2004	Monarch of the Glen	Chester Grant	Episodes: 6.7-6.10
2005	Murder Investigation Team	Stewart Masters	Episode: 2.2
2005	Rose and Maloney	David Terry	Episode: 2.2
2006	Hotel Babylon	Mr Machin	Episode: 1.2
2006	Doctor Who	Mr. Finch	Episode: "School Reunion"
2006	Children's Party at the Palace	Captain Hook	BBC television special
2006	Him and Us	Max Flash	Unsold television pilot
2007	Comic Relief 2007: The Big One	Various	Television special
2007	Persuasion	Sir Walter Elliot	Television film
2007	Totally Doctor Who	Baltazar	Voice role in The Infinite Quest
2007	Sensitive Skin	Tom Paine	Episodes: "The Signals", "Here I Am"
2007	Sold	Mr Colubrine	6 episodes
2007-08	Heroes Unmasked	Narrator	Series 1 & 2
2007-09	Doctor Who Confidential	Narrator	30 episodes
2007-09	Little Britain	Prime Minister	23 episodes
2008-12	Merlin	Uther Pendragon	43 episodes
2008	'	Maurice Riley	BBC One series
2009	Free Agents	Stephen	Channel 4 TV series
2011	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
2013	NTSF:SD:SUV::	Corningham	Episode: "U-KO'ed"
2013	Warehouse 13	Paracelsus	3 episodes
2013	You, Me & Them	Ed Walker	UK TV Gold series
2014-15	Dominion	David Whele	Main cast
2015	Galavant	Galavant's Father	Episode: "My Cousin Izzy"
2015-16	Yonderland	Nigel	2 episodes
2017	Still Star-Crossed	Lord Silvestro Capulet	Series regular

Radio

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	Bleak Expectations	Gently Benevolent & Jeremy Sourquill
2010	Ghost Stories by Walter de la Mare	The Reader	First broadcast on BBC Radio 7 - Mon 27 Dec 2010 Subsequent repeats on Radio 4 Extra Episode 4 of 5: "A Recluse"
2011-2014	Cabin Pressure	Herc Shipwright	Episodes: "Newcastle", "Ottery St Mary", "Rotterdam", "Vaduz", "Yverdon-Les-Bains", "Zrich, Part 1", "Zrich, Part 2"
2012	Clayton Grange	Saunders
2013	Neverwhere	Mr Croup

Music

• Face in the window - EP (1983 album) with his band Two way
• "Sweet Transvestite" (1991 single) Chrysalis Records, 7″ single, 12″ single, CD single, and shaped picture CD
• Music for Elevators (2002 album) in collaboration with George Sarah
• Cry (2012 single) written by Marina Florance for the Oldie Composers Competition
• Staring At The Sun (2014 album) A solo album of both covers and original work