Recently seen in Steven Soderbergh’s action thriller Haywire, Karl Shiels is one of the toughest acts of Irish stage and screen, writes Kate Butler. His next role is as Goldfish in Tom Murphy’s play The House, opening at the Abbey theatre on June 13. The 40-year-old lives in Kilmainham with his wife, writer Dearbhla Regan, and their three-year-old twin daughters, Saoirse and Iseabel.
Tales from the script
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My part in Howie the Rookie was one of my first meaty roles. It was 1999 and the play opened in Shepherd’s Bush in London and then went on to New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Edinburgh and Dublin. At each opening night I would get Mark O’Rowe, the writer, to sign the script. The play was reviewed by The New York Times. There’s a saying that if your review goes below the fold, there’s a kudos to that. Well, ours went below the fold and onto the next page. We got calls from everywhere and it opened a lot of doors.
Sole mates
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When Saoirse and Iseabel started walking, I took them out to get a pair of boots. I showed them some Dr Martens and they fell in love with them straightaway. Saoirse adores pink (she’s a go-getter, a curly-haired sprite) and Iseabel loves purple (she’s the dark-haired, broody one) — so that’s what they got. They get their little boots on, I put on my 10-hole Docs and out we go together. Unfortunately, my wife doesn’t have a pair.
Precious metal
This is a silver ring that I bought in the Cat & the Moon craft shop in Sligo. A friend commented that people would know I’m married from across the road because it’s such a knuckle-duster. Dearbhla and I have been married for nine years and the ring has taken a few bumps. It’s like a good wine, though — it gains character as it ages.
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Hands of history
My mother’s father fought for the British cavalry in the second world war and he had his leg blown off. My mother passed away and three years ago my father remarried. I was his best man and he gave me this pocket watch as a gift. It’s a Waltham, an American watch, made in 1857. My grandfather would have had it with him going to war. He wrote certain things on the back but then scraped them off. I never found out what they were because he died when my mum was young. He lay in the battlefield for two days while the Germans went around killing people. Eventually the Red Cross got him out.
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A cut above
I’ve had this for about 20 years and it goes everywhere with me. I’ve always had a penknife since I was a boy — everyone from Huckleberry Finn to MacGyver has one. This is a particular favourite. I got it in a jewellery shop in Sligo. I was going to London once and I realised when I got to the airport that I had only hand luggage with me. So I went back out and hid the knife in the airport car park, went off to London for two days and then came back and retrieved it. It’s got me out of every kind of jam.