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 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.
[4] In November 1987, Kiefel played Valantin, alongside Barry Otto, in Egil Kipste's production of Kiss of the Spider Woman for the Nimrod Theatre Company.
[4] Kiefel began his screen acting career with a role in Gillian Armstrong's 1977 feature film The Singer and the Dancer.
[15] Kiefel made numerous recurring and guest appearances in television series, including Wildside, Water Rats, Blue Heelers, Stingers and Something in the Air.
[18] Kiefel was part of the ensemble cast of television film The Junction Boys, which centres on the life of American college football coach Bear Bryant.
[20] In 2008, Kiefel appeared as political adviser Lloyd Ross in the television documentary Infamous Victory: Ben Chifley's Battle for Coal.
[22] Artist Demian Carey Gibbins painted Kiefel in 2015, and reached the semi-finals of the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize with the piece he titled A Familiar Face.
[23] His character was introduced as the father of the established Brennan brothers, and his arrival started a domestic violence storyline for the family.
[24] Producers had plans to bring the character back following his initial arc, but they had to change the storyline due to Kiefel's death.
[25] Kiefel's later television appearances were recurring and guest roles in Tricky Business, Childhood's End and Secret City.