Stahl was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1952. As a child, Stahl moved around as his father was an airline pilot, who was transferred a lot. When he was nine, he moved with his parents to a farm in Butler County, Kentucky, which he still owns and operates today. He graduated from University High School in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1970 and Western Kentucky University in 1975. At WKU, Stahl served as one of the section editors of WKU's awarding-winning yearbook, The Talisman. He was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity, Eta Rho Chapter. Early in his career, he spent time as a musician and visual Artist before taking up acting in local regional theater. He spent a short period of time in New York City in the early 1980s, while his former wife obtained a degree in dance from Columbia University. He studied with Wynn Handman, william Hickey and Jack Waltzer, and performed in various Off Broadway productions. He currently lives on his family farm in Butler County, Kentucky and works out of Atlanta, Georgia and Nashville, Tennessee. He has one son.