Karl Shiels

Karl Shiels (25 September 1971 – 15 July 2019 ) was an Irish actor of both stage and screen.

His stage roles included Henry IV, Part 1, Penelope, At Swim-Two-Birds, The Spanish Tragedy, The Duchess of Malfi, The Shadow of a Gunman and This Lime Tree Bower. His screen roles included Fair City, Peaky Blinders and Batman Begins.

He died suddenly at the age of 47, with a play he had directed underway in Dublin and an ongoing screen role as Robbie Quinn in Fair City.

Career He took up performance in the early 1990s, training with the Gaiety School of Acting.

Shiels was artistic director of the Theatre Upstairs (above Lanigan's Bar on Eden Quay), and, before this, he had a company, Semper Fi. He had worked on set up to two days before dying, the break only coming about due to the arrival of the weekend. He had also been expected to play a leading role in the 30th anniversary episode, scheduled for September 2019.

Awards and nominations In 1999, Shiels won Best Actor at the Dublin Theatre Festival for his performance in Comedians. He was a cousin of Twin Peaks: The Return actress Amy Shiels. He worked as an electrician until he turned to acting. Shiels was the second actor on the soap opera to die in less than a month, following the death of Tom Jordan a little over a fortnight earlier in June.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes2003 Mystics Barry 2003 Veronica Guerin Gilligan Gang Member #1 2003 Intermission Wayne 2004 Capital Letters Keely 2005 Batman Begins Arkham Thug #3 2007 W.C. Rodney 2007 Waiting for Dublin Vito 2008 Eden Breffni Grehan 2009 Savage Eddie 2011 Haywire Goatee 2012 Shadow Dancer Mulville's Driver / Gunman 2012 Stitches Boss Clown 2014 Noble Driver 2014 Davin Damo 2015 The Hit Producer John 'The Elk