RIP Anthony Head: Our 10 favorite Buffy’s Giles moments

On Friday, the news broke pass through of the actor Anthony Head he is 72 years old, best known for his Manager/father image Rupert Giles on spiritual drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fans and former costars alike flooded the social media and poured out praise for his talent and grief over his death.

Head certainly had a successful career after that Buffy: played Uther Pendragon in the series Merlin; Prime Minister in Little Britain; bad principal in Doctor Who section “School Reunion”; and of course, rich, says Rupert Mannion in Ted Lasso. But Giles is still his definitive role; there was even talk of a spinoff series, Ripperalthough it is not designed.

There are a few Giles-centric episodes, which belies the central importance of the characters in the series. He had very good lines, very clever cuts. But Head’s true genius—and that of his character—lay quietly filling the gaps in each scene, working with his colleagues to weave the curtain. Take him away, and that slows everything down.

(Spoilers for Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV shows here.)

What a great time to spend a few hours watching Buffy in honor of Head? If you need some ideas, here are 10 of our favorite Giles moments, in chronological order. Feel free to experiment with your favorites in the comments.

Lying to Me (S2)

Credit: 20th Television/the WB

An old Los Angeles classmate of Buffy’s, Ford (Billy Fordham) transfers to Sunnydale High for his senior year, and reveals that he knows he is the Slayer. We soon learn that Ford is intent on finding her. He has joined the secret society “Sunset Club” whose members read a lot of Anne Rice and love vampires, unaware of the evil culture of demons. Ford is not fooled, but approaches Spike (James Marsters) with a deal: Ford will give Buffy to Spike, and Spike will turn Ford into a vampire. All the other members of the club are killed.