John Stahl

This article is about the Scottish actor. For the American film director, see John M. Stahl.

John Macdonald Steele (23 June 1953 – 2 March 2022), better known as John Stahl, was a Scottish actor best known for playing Rickard Karstark in HBO's Game of Thrones and Tom 'Inverdarroch' Kerr in High Road.

John Stahl
Born	John Macdonald Steele (1953-06-23)23 June 1953 Sauchie, Clackmannanshire, Scotland
Died	2 March 2022(2022-03-02) (aged 68) Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1976–2022

Life and career

Stahl was born on 23 June 1953 in Sauchie, Clackmannanshire.^[1][2]

John was educated at Alloa Academy and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.^[3] From 1975 to 1976, Stahl worked as an assistant director in the Darlington Drama Centre. His screen debut was in 1976. He found fame for his role as Tom 'Inverdarroch' Kerr in the television series High Road, in which he appeared as a series regular between 1982 and 2003. He also played the role of Rickard Karstark in HBO's Game of Thrones, appearing in the second and third seasons.^[4] His other roles include Inspector Reed in the 1995 television series Resort to Murder, and as Ewan in the 2011 Royal National Theatre production Frankenstein.^[5]

Stahl lived on the Isle of Lewis and was a supporter of Scottish independence.^[6] He died from cancer on 2 March 2022 at the age of 68.^[7][8]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	A Sense of Freedom	Det. Sergeant Williamson
1989	Albert and the Lion	Forsyth	(TV Movie)
1995	Jolly: A Life	Moderator	(TV Movie)
1996	Loch Ness	First Fisherman
2010	Vocation	Robert Herzfeld	(Short)
2017	Victoria & Abdul	Ghillie
2018	Mary Queen of Scots	Fisherman
2021	A Castle for Christmas	Solicitor

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	Garnock Way	Police Constible Schoular	1 episode
1977	The Mackinnons	Manager / Receptionist	2 episodes
1982–2003	High Road	Tom 'Inverdarroch' Kerr	114 episodes
1994	Taggart	Tom Fleming	1 episode
1994	Crime Story	Det. Insp. Brian Steer	1 episode
1995	The Tales of Para Handy	Robertson	1 episode
1995	Resort to Murder	Inspector Reed	5 episodes
1996	Doctor Finlay	Robbie Cuthbertson	1 episode
2001	Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes	Supt. Milford	1 episode
2003	Doctors	Fred Griffiths	1 episode
2007	Rebus	Rev Andrew McLeod	1 episode
2008–2011	Holby City	Jasper Glenn / Mick Hales	2 episodes
2010	Being Human	Quinn	3 episodes
2012–2013	Game of Thrones	Rickard Karstark	5 episodes: "A Man Without Honor", "The Prince of Winterfell", "Valar Dohaeris", "Dark Wings, Dark Words" and "Kissed by Fire"
2016	Shetland	Eric the Boatman	1 episode
2019	Midsomer Murders	Damian Lint	1 episode

References

1. "Chance decision brought John to the stage". Evening Times. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
2. "Obituaries: John Stahl, Take the High Road and Game of Thrones star". The Scotsman. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
3. "John Stahl". Folger Shakespeare Library. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
4. "John Stahl joins 'Game of Thrones' season 2 – but who is he playing?". Hypable. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
5. "AHA John Stahl" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
6. "Scots Game of Thrones actor prepares for the National Theatre of Scotland's James Plays". Daily Record. 31 January 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
7. "Tributes pour in for Scots Game of Thrones actor John Stahl who died aged 68". Daily Record. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
8. Nugent, Annabel (4 March 2022). "John Stahl death: Game of Thrones actor dies aged 68". The Independent. Retrieved 4 March 2022.

External links

• John Stahl at IMDb
• John Stahl discography at Discogs