Brian Dietzen

Brian’s first call to acting came in the form of a school play at the age of 8 years old.  He played an evil elf in a Christmas play, and from there on out he was hooked.  He attended Niwot High School in Colorado where he landed the lead roles in several classics before he set out to study theatre at the University of Colorado at Boulder’s BFA acting program.  There he met his good friend and mentor, Sean Kelley.  With Sean he earned the lead roles in the critically acclaimed productions of “All My Sons”, Equus”, and “Waiting for Godot”.  He also starred in productions of “Death and the Maiden”, “Antigone,” and the regional premiere of “Abingdon Square”.  While working on several local and regional commercials, Brian joined The Colorado Shakespeare Festival for two years, and performed in “Henry IV pts I and II,” “Henry V” and “Julius Caesar”.

At the end of his college career, Brian took the advice of his good friend and agent, Patty Kingsbaker, and moved west to Los Angeles.  It didn’t take Brian long to get tired of the monotonous nature of waiting by the phone for auditions, so he started writing letters to anyone who would listen.  Without an agent or a SAG card, Brian was called into an audition by Patrick Rush for the new WB series “My Guide to Becoming a Rockstar” produced by John Riggi (Will and Grace, 30 Rock).  The part was a series regular (the drummer of the group) and Brian was cast.  Though the series was short lived, Brian had a wonderful time in Vancouver, and came back to LA with a new sense of purpose and direction.  Upon returning, he teamed up once again with John Riggi for a two man show with Steve Rudnick (The Santa Clause trilogy, Kicking and Screaming).  “The Oldest Man in Showbusiness” was extremely well written, and very well received.  Right after the show closed, Brian traveled down to Miami to work with Kelly Clarkson and Anika Noni Rose on the new Rob Iscove (She’s All That) movie, “From Justin to Kelly.”

Upon returning from Miami, Brian did stage readings with friends, and eventually formed the sketch comedy group “The Norm” with Kevin Rankin (Friday Night Lights, Undeclared) and Jill Farley.  Together the group produced a live sketch show, and a popular web series “Coaching Life”.

During a short hiatus from The Norm, Brian auditioned for a one day part on the hit series “NCIS”.  He booked the role and three years later, the character of Jimmy Palmer is still helping the NCIS team at crime scenes and assisting Dr. Mallard during autopsies.  The experience and friends made on the set of “NCIS’ has been wonderful for Brian, and he always looks forward to the next script.

Brian lives in Los Angeles with his wife.