Russell Kiefel

Russell John Kiefel (1951 – 20 November 2016) was an Australian stage, film and television actor. After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Kiefel started his screen acting career with a role in the 1977 feature film The Singer and the Dancer. He followed this with roles in Breaker Morant (1980), Twelfth Night (1986), Call Me Mr. Brown (1990) and television film The Leaving of Liverpool (1992). Kiefel appeared in several television dramas, including Home and Away, Fireflies and Stingers. He starred in an episode of Twisted Tales in 1998. Among his various guest appearances were episodes of Wildside, Blue Heelers and Something in the Air. In 2008, Kiefel played Lloyd Ross in Infamous Victory: Ben Chifley's Battle for Coal. He joined the cast of Neighbours in the recurring role of Russell Brennan in 2015.

Kiefel worked with various theatre companies throughout his stage career, appearing in numerous productions. His earliest roles were with the Old Tote Theatre Company. He appeared in both the Australian and American seasons of A Streetcar Named Desire and Travelling North. Kiefel was closely associated with Belvoir and appeared in several productions for them, including Run Rabbit Run and The Blind Giant is Dancing. He starred in the 2009 production of The Alchemist at the Sydney Opera House. Kiefel fell ill while appearing in And I'm the Queen of Sheba at the Browns Mart Theatre in Darwin, and he died on 20 November 2016.