Talking to the Head by Kate Anderson
An exclusive interview with Anthony Stewart Head, as he reflects on five years of being a Buffy regular and what it means to be saying goodbye…

When it came to casting the role of Watcher Rupert Giles, Joss Whedon called upon the talents of British actor Anthony Stewart Head, who was based at that time in LA. Best known for his role in the Rocky Horror stage production as Dr. Frank N. Furter and as the face of Nescafe (he starred in a popular British series of Nescafe Gold adverts which ran during the mid-eighties), Tony quickly made the part of the very English, fuddy-duddy-ish Giles his own, and became loved by audiences worldwide.
    It is in part thanks to Tony – not to mention of course the talents of the other regular cast members who have been onboard since day one – that Buffy has become the success it is today. Tony has seen a number of changes in his role over the last six years – Giles was fired from his job as Watcher to Buffy in the show’s third season, but stayed on as her mentor and has become a parent figure to Buffy and sister Dawn since their mom died halfway through Season Five. Meanwhile, he’s gone from being school librarian to living a life of leisure to managing the supposedly cursed Magic Box. But despite these changes of circumstances, Giles has remained a series regular… Until now.

As Buffy entered it’s sixth season, Tony made the very difficult decision to scale down his role in order to spend more time back home in England. In the Season Six opener, ‘Bargaining,’ Giles signs over ownership of the Magic Box to Anya and jets off to England to be with his family and friends. After all, with his Slayer dead and buried, Sunnydale no longer holds a purpose for him. But when Buffy is resurrected from the grave, it’s not long before Giles returns to take up his role as her unofficial Watcher. However, his time in Sunnydale is to be short-lived…

Can you tell us how many episodes of Buffy sixth season you’re actually appearing in?
I’m in episodes one, four, five, six, seven, eight and nine. Ultimately I want to be based in England again and commute back to the States, rather than it being the way around that it has been.

Five years is certainly a long tie to be away from your family.
It’s a very long time. I’ve sort of extensively been away for seven years, off and on, with the two years before that, when I did a year on VR-5 and then I did a pilot before Buffy. And then I did the Buffy pilot. As my youngest daughter pointed out, I’ve been away for more than half her life!

How did you feel about her saying that?
It just reinforced, you know, if I was in any doubt whether I was doing the right thing or not. The fact is, I work for someone who completely understands and is also not only willing to make that possible but doesn’t want to kill me!

So Giles isn’t going to be killed off then?
Well, with this show you never know!

What was the mood like on set of the 100th episode, ‘The Gift’?
The mood was fantastic. The camera assistant and myself leant against each other at the end, because the last night’s shoot for fairly gruelling for them. Actually, we got out fairly early, but they shot till dawn, as the often do. I was spared most of those, luckily. But we said, ‘My God, we’ve grown old together on this show!” He was a mere clapper-loader when he first started!

Looking back for a moment, do you have a particular favourite episode from the last five seasons?
No, because there have been some stand-out shows in pretty much every season. I do admit, however, that I love making and watching Joss’ episodes.

Do any favourite moments spring to mind?
There was one that I wasn’t on camera for, which was in ‘Passion,’ when I tell Buffy and Willow [in a sad voice] that ‘Jenny’s dead.’ And the writers really effectively, I feel, chose to have a real telephone line so that I actually talked to them on the telephone. You never see Giles saying it, but basically you see their reaction. And I think it’s a really, really great moment.

One of the best Giles episodes is Season Four’s ‘A New Man,’ which was just hilarious, What do you prefer working on – comic episodes like that one or the more serious stuff?
I had such fun with that! When I first heard about it, I thought it was going to be my chance to be moody. And then someone said “It’s really funny!” And it actually was great fun. But I like all areas. I would find it limiting to just do comedy.

‘A New Man’ features some great scenes between yourself and James Marsters. Does the rapport that the two of you share on the set extend to your relationship away from filming?
James and I always wanted to do some stuff together. I think ‘A New Man’ was the first time we really got to. We have a great respect for each other’s work. We’re not from similar backgrounds at all, but we like the same type, the same sort of stuff. In fact, we were recently doing some Shakespeare together.
    I really like the cast. They’re all very different. Sarah and I also have a huge mutual respect for each other. Of the scenes that we have together, they are differently paced from the rest of the show. There’s some more action about them, and she’s a love. It works and it’s such good on-screen chemistry. I have a really, really good time.

Giles has progressed a lot since the show started – going from being a bit of a fuddy-duddy to a slightly hip magic shop owner. What do you think makes him such a cool character?
He’s got a little bit more me in him than he used to. We all started off as this strange bunch of misfits, and Buffy has given us purpose, as leaders do. But I don’t know what makes him cooler. I think there’s the fact that people find the dark side so attractive. You usually find that if we don’t understand something or don’t know about it, people find it a strange turn-on. But I don’t know. I think you’d have to ask a fan that really.

What is the best thing about being on Buffy?
It’s really, really cool. It’s not only an enormously popular show, but it’s actually a really cool show.

And the worst thing?
Being away from my family, and the fact that was a neccessity. But it’s part of the job – I mean if I was in the armed forces or on an oilrig or in the merchant navy I’d be away from home for even longer periods. It goes with the turf.

One final question: what words would you use to describe the Buffy cast?
Good people.