The Kindness of Anthony Head
"If you EVER think Anthony Head is anything less than an angel then you’d best remember that I have always been a huge fan of his and we’ve always had a little contact over the years and he heard I’d come out as Trans and was having a hard time and that I was kind of sad that the photos I had from conventions with him were of me with long hair and no binder and they were all signed to “Sarah” and so he invited me to spend the day with him at his farm and he picked me up from the station and we just hung out and had lunch and he insisted on paying and took loads of photos and had them printed on photo paper the same day so he could sign them to Jay, along with other photos of him as Giles and Uther and he literally spent five hours chatting with me and got all of the pronoun stuff right every time and then he dropped me off at the station, gave me a final massive hug, waved me through the ticket barrier and insisted I message him when I got home so he knew I got back safe." -Jay Hulme (@jayhulmepoet)
Jay posted the story on Twitter in 2015, but it went through a resurgence in 2019, and is making the rounds again, in light of the death of Anthony Head.
I’m aware people are sharing the “Giles was nice to a trans guy” story again, and yes, many people who tagged me, it is me. Back in January 2015 when I came out as Trans Anthony Head and his wonderful wife Sarah reached out and invited me to come to their farm for the day.
“They spent the day with me, took me to the fanciest restaurant I’d ever been to in my life, introduced me to their horses, took lovely photos, and printed and signed them, and even gave me tips for an essay I was writing on Shakespeare for school.
“Most importantly, however, they gave me what I had been lacking in my life up until that point – affirmation, compassion, and belief in my abilities.”
After their meeting, Hulme remained in touch with Stewart Head and his wife. The actor wrote the foreword for Hulme’s first self-published poetry book, who in turn paid his own tribute to the actor.
“The eagle-eyed nerds among you may have noticed that my middle name is Anthony – a reminder I gave to myself right at the beginning – a reminder to be for others what he, and Sarah, were to me. A light of hope,” he wrote.
“They laid very small foundation stones, at a very important age (18), giving me the ability to grow and change, and build the life I have now. One where I write and teach and speak and try to help everyone build a better world for the future.”