Rupert Giles

Rupert Giles

Rupert Edmund 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 character proved popular with fans, and since 2003, Joss Whedon has attempted to continue Giles' story through a spin-off, Ripper; as of 2009, Whedon has submitted a 90-minute script to the BBC, but rights issues have so far prevented the series moving into development. The character of Giles also appears substantially in Expanded Universe material such as novels, comic books, and short stories.

Giles's primary role in the series is Watcher to Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) in her capacity as vampire Slayer; he is in the employ of the Watchers' Council, a British organization that attempts to oversee the actions of the Slayer. From youth, Giles was expected to follow the family tradition and become a Watcher, though as a teenager and young adult he rebelled, dropping out of Oxford University to experiment in dark magic and the rock music scene, until a bereavement brought him to his senses. In adulthood, his loyalty to Buffy and her group of friends costs him his job for a time. As the series progresses, Giles increasingly becomes a father figure to Buffy and her friends Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Xander (Nicholas Brendon). His encyclopedic knowledge, affinity for magic, moderate fighting skills and willingness to kill make him an asset to Buffy in her fight against the supernatural evils that plague Sunnydale, California. Canonically, the character's story is continued in the comic book Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, in which Giles has ascended to the highest position of authority in the Watcher's Council.