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Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February 1954)
is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in
musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the
Gold Blend couple
The Gold Blend couple was a British television advertising campaign for Nescafé "Gold Blend" instant coffee, developed by McCann Erickson and which ran from 1987 to 1993.
Background
The original campaign ran for twelve 45-second instalments betwe ...
television advertisements for
Nescafé
Nescafé is a brand of coffee made by Nestlé. It comes in many different forms. The name is a portmanteau of the words "Nestlé" and "café". Nestlé first introduced their flagship coffee brand in Switzerland on 1 April 1938.
History
Nestlà ...
, which led to major roles in several television series. He is best known for his roles as
Rupert Giles
Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure. The characte ...
in ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...
'' (1997–2003), the Prime Minister in ''
Little Britain Little Britain may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Little Britain'' (sketch show), a British radio and then TV show
** ''Little Britain USA'', an American spin-off
* "Little Britain", a song by Dreadzone from the 1995 album '' Second Light''
...
'' (2003–2006), and
Uther Pendragon
Uther Pendragon (Brittonic) (; cy, Ythyr Ben Dragwn, Uthyr Pendragon, Uthyr Bendragon), also known as King Uther, was a legendary King of the Britons in sub-Roman Britain (c. 6th century). Uther was also the father of King Arthur.
A few m ...
in ''
Merlin
Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...
'' (2008–2012), as well as voicing Herc Shipwright in BBC Radio 4's ''
Cabin Pressure
Cabin pressurization is a process in which conditioned air is pumped into the cabin of an aircraft or spacecraft in order to create a safe and comfortable environment for passengers and crew flying at high altitudes. For aircraft, this air is ...
''.
Early life
Head was born in
Camden Town
Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...
, London. His father was Seafield Laurence Stewart Murray Head (20 August 1919 – 22 March 2009), a documentary filmmaker and a founder of
Verity Films
Verity Films was a British documentary film production company, founded by Sydney Box and Jay Gardner Lewis in March or May 1940.
Background
The company's initial purpose was to make short propaganda films for the wartime government.Spicer, 18 ...
, and his mother was actress
Helen Shingler
Helen Shingler (29 August 1919 – 8 October 2019) was a British film and television actress.
Biography
Shingler was born on 29 August 1919. She married producer Seafield Head, and was the mother of actor and singer Murray Head and actor Antho ...
(29 August 1919 – 8 October 2019); they married in 1944 in
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
. His older brother is actor/singer
Murray Head
Murray Seafield St George Head (born 5 March 1946) is an English actor and singer. Head has appeared in a number of films, including a starring role as the character Bob Elkin in the Oscar-nominated 1971 film ''Sunday Bloody Sunday''. As a mus ...
. Both brothers have played the part of Freddie Trumper in the musical ''
Chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
'' at the
Prince Edward Theatre
The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London.
History
The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone, with an interior designed by Ma ...
, London, with Murray a part of the original cast in 1986, while Anthony was in the final cast in 1989.
Head was educated at Sunbury Grammar School and
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools.
LAMDA's Principal is ...
(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.'"
Career
1970s to 1990s
His first role was in the musical ''
Godspell
''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hymn ...
''; this led to roles in television on both
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
, 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
Sharon Patricia Maughan (born 22 June 1950) is a British actress.
Early life
Sharon Mughan grew up in Kirkby, Lancashire, with her four siblings. She later changed her surname to "Maughan".
Career
Upon graduating from RADA, Maughan gained ...
for
Nescafé
Nescafé is a brand of coffee made by Nestlé. It comes in many different forms. The name is a portmanteau of the words "Nestlé" and "café". Nestlé first introduced their flagship coffee brand in Switzerland on 1 April 1938.
History
Nestlà ...
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
CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...
comedy drama ''
Woof!
''Woof!'' is a British children's television series produced by Central Independent Television about the adventures of a boy who shapeshifts into a dog. It was based on the book by Allan Ahlberg. It was directed by David Cobham with the screenp ...
''
Head played Frank N. Furter in the 1990–91 West End revival of ''
The Rocky Horror Show
''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the musical tells the story of a newly engaged couple ...
'' at London's
Piccadilly Theatre
The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, London, England.
Early years
Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A. Stone ...
, with
Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-born American comedian, actor, writer, and television host. He is best known for hosting the CBS late-night talk show ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' (2005–2014), for which he won a ...
as Brad Majors. In 1991 Head's rendition of "
Sweet Transvestite" was released as a single by
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...
. Head played the role again in the summer of 1995 at London's
Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...
, a 3 May 2006 tribute show at London's
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...
, and a 14 October 2000 production at the
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and ro ...
,
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
.
Success on the stage and a number of brief appearances on American television, such as in the short-lived ''
VR.5
''VR.5'' is an American science-fiction television series first broadcast on the Fox network from March 10 to May 12, 1995. Ten of its thirteen episodes were aired during its original run. The title of the show refers to the degree of immersion ...
'', led to accepting the role of
Rupert Giles
Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure. The characte ...
in ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...
'' 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.
2000s
In 2002, he co-starred in the
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
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. He also appeared in guest roles in various other dramas, such as ''
Silent Witness
''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC, which focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel McC ...
'', ''
Murder Investigation Team
Major Investigation Teams (MIT) are the specialised homicide squads of the Metropolitan Police in London, England. Forming part of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, there are 24 MITs within the Met. MITs investigate cases of murder, manslau ...
'', and ''
Spooks''. He appeared in the 4th series of the British hit sitcom ''
My Family
''My Family'' is a British sitcom created and initially co-written by Fred Barron, which was produced by DLT Entertainment and Rude Boy Productions, and broadcast by BBC One for eleven series between 2000 and 2011, with Christmas specials broadc ...
'' in 2003 playing one of the main characters' (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 Little Britain may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Little Britain'' (sketch show), a British radio and then TV show
** ''Little Britain USA'', an American spin-off
* "Little Britain", a song by Dreadzone from the 1995 album '' Second Light''
...
'' from 2003 to 2005, and guest starred in several episodes of the 2004 series of popular drama ''
Monarch of the Glen''.
Outside television work, he has released an album of songs with musician
George Sarah
George Shimeall, known professionally by his stage name George Sarah, is an American composer, based in Los Angeles, California.
History
George Sarah rose to notoriety in the electronic music scene with Stereotaxic Device, a band he was in from ...
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
A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...
version of ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'', a story called ''
Death Comes to Time
''Death Comes to Time'' is a webcast audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', produced by the BBC and first broadcast in five episodes on the BBCi Cult website from 12 July 2001, accompani ...
'', in which he played the
Time Lord
The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', of which the series' main protagonist, The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, is a memb ...
Valentine. He also guest starred in the ''
Excelis Trilogy'', a series of ''Doctor Who''
audio adventures produced by
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...
, and in 2005 narrated the two-part documentary ''Project: WHO?'', detailing the television revival of the series, for
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
(and released to CD in 2006 by
BBC Audio
AudioGO (formerly BBC Audiobooks) was a publisher of audiobooks and a range of spoken word and large-print titles. It was majority owned by AudioGO Ltd, and minority owned by BBC Worldwide. It was formed in 2010, when AudioGO purchased a majori ...
). 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
''Doctor Who Confidential'' is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Each episode was broadcast on BBC T ...
''. 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
''The Infinite Quest'' is an animated serial based on the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was made by BBC Television, but does not share the same producers as the live-action series. It was aired in twelve weekly pa ...
". Head had previously auditioned for the role of the
Eighth Doctor
The Eighth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Paul McGann.
The character was introduced in the 1996 TV film ''Doctor Who'', a back-door pilo ...
for the 1996 television film, but lost out to
Paul McGann
Paul John McGann (; born 14 November 1959) is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the television serial ''The Monocled Mutineer'' (1986), then starred in the dark comedy ''Withnail and I'' (1987), which was a ...
.
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
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
, for American TV channel
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, co-starring
Kim Cattrall
Kim Victoria Cattrall (; born 21 August 1956) is a British-Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Samantha Jones on HBO's ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), for which she received five Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe A ...
. In July he appeared as
Captain Hook
Captain James Hook is a fictional character and the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' and its various adaptations, in which he is Peter Pan's archenemy. The character is a pirate captain ...
at the ''
Children's Party at the Palace
The Children's Party at the Palace was an event organised by Peter Orton of Hit Entertainment and David Johnstone of DJI consult, held in the Garden at Buckingham Palace on 25 June 2006 in honour of the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. The ...
'', a live
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
staged in the grounds of
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
as part of
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
's 80th birthday celebrations. In October 2006, he voiced Ponsonby, leader of MI6, in ''
Destroy All Humans! 2
''Destroy All Humans! 2'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by THQ for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is the sequel to '' Destroy All Humans!'' and the second installment in the '' Destroy All Humans!'' f ...
''.
At
Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is c ...
in 2007,
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...
said talks were almost completed for a 90-minute ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' spin-off, ''Ripper'', as a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
special, with both Head and the BBC on board. In 2007, he portrayed