Brian Dietzen – NCIS

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) Actually, over the summer we premiered a documentary we’ve been working on with a few of my friends at AFI. It’s a short documentary called Lightning vs. Thunder. It’s about a camp for children with amputations and these leg deficient kids learn how to use their prosthesis by playing softball. The counselors at the camp are members of the Wounded Warriors Amputee Softball Team. So, it’s a really great story about some of our veterans really helping out kids and our kids in turn building confidence and getting to meet people just like them. It was an inspiring project I’m really glad we got to premiere it.

Q) What are some themes or cases coming this season on “NCIS?”

A) During the premiere we’re going to have the return of a familiar face, which I think everyone knows by now. It was really exciting to have Cote de Pablo to come back for the beginning of the season and have that beloved character, Ziva, return. I think that’s about all I’m allowed to say about it other than we had a great time shooting and it’s my favorite season premiere that we’ve had in quite some time. Outside of that storyline, for my character it’s been a really great graduation to a new level of being a fulltime medical examiner with Duckie (David MCCallum) becoming the NCIS Historian. It leads to Jimmy Palmer doing all of the autopsies and taking over the department himself. It leads to some kind of great personal growth for him.

Q) What continues to challenge you about portraying Jimmy?

A) I think the deal with any sort of long-term storytelling, such as a TV show entering its seventeenth season, one of the challenges is not to rest on our laurels and repeat what we’ve done in the past. It’s to continue to have the character grow and to create new challenges and opportunities for the character while sticking true to what brought us here – sticking to the same DNA that Jimmy has grown up with. Not changing him completely, but having him evolve enough so the audience feels they are growing with the character. I think it’s a fun challenge as an actor because you could sit back and say, “Well, let’s just do the same stuff we did in Season 8, 9 and 10” and repeat the same notes. But it’s fun to find new challenges and new relationships with characters and also having old relationships evolve. Certainly, Jimmy’s relationship with Gibbs has changed quite a bit over the last few years and it’s been fun to play with that.

Q) We love the relationship between Jimmy and Duckie as well. What does their friendship and mentorship mean to you?

A) Well, obviously on screen and off that relationship has meant a lot – both with David and between Jimmy and Duckie. And that mentorship has been real, in front of and behind the camera. When I first joined the show seven years ago, I was just supposed to be a one–day guest star. A lot of the reason I stuck around is because David and I had a great relationship and repartee. The writers and producers saw that and said, “Let’s keep that guy around. Keep him working with us.” It’s meant a heck of a lot to me, personally, behind the camera and in front of it…Duckie is the reason why Jimmy has grown into a full-fledged medical examiner. Without his help and guidance, I don’t’ think Jimmy would have been able to do that. Not to mention the fact it’s fun to have a multigenerational friendship on television that is not a forced one. It’s not the father-son thing – “we’re related by blood; therefore we have to be pals.” It’s a relationship where he has different experiences than I do because he comes from a different generation – neither one of them is worse than the other. It’s fun to be able to talk about and explore that on camera.

Q) What have been some of your favorite scenes to film?

A) Over this year so far, I always love all of the discovery scenes with the autopsies. The really great scenes in those first couple episodes that have to do with stuff I can’t talk about, so I’ll leave those to the side. On the whole, one thing I really enjoyed this season and last season as well, were a lot of the scenes between Jimmy and Kasie (Diona Reasonover). That relationship has really solidified and it has been really fun to play. Again, kind of like the relationship with Duckie, it’s a unique friendship. It’s a unique relationship. There is a duel gender relationship where there isn’t the question of will they or won’t they. It’s really a platonic true friendship where those two have each other’s backs. They have a really great shorthand and it’s a pleasure to play. It really it is. Not to mention the fact that I think Diona is one of the most talented people that I know. It’s always a pleasure to play scenes with her.

Q) Who are some guest stars you can tease that will be appearing?

A) That’s obviously the crux of our season’s return. We left it on such a great cliffhanger. Having Cote back was something we were all looking forward to. And Gina Monreal, who wrote the season premiere, and Steven Binder, who wrote the second episode, did not disappoint. It was kind of everything we had hoped it would be. That’s kind of all I can say. But what’s nice about that return of that character (not to mention our good friend) is that it does up other doors and say, “Maybe there are other people that can come back and visit as well.” If Mike Franks, played by Muse Watson, could come back from beyond the grave than why can’t other characters come back and visit us as well? I’ve got my fingers crossed for a few people that remain close friends of mine just because selfishly I’d like to hang out with them on set.

Q) If you could maybe see something in the future for Jimmy then, is there something you’d like to see him explore personally or professionally?

A) It’s been some time since we have seen Jimmy’s child, which I believe was about five years ago. So, it’s been a while since we checked in on his home life. And understandably so with McGee (Sean Murray) getting married and then McGee having twins, there has been a lot of domestic storylines going around. So, it kind of would make sense like, “Maybe we don’t double up on that by checking in on Jimmy’s home life.” [laugh] But it would be nice to see what’s going on with Jimmy’s family. I also think that it’s always fun to see some of our characters out of their elements, which makes for some of the best TV that we’ve had. Whether it is Jimmy getting into a bit of trouble, like Jimmy being out there on a ledge trying to talk someone off a suicide attempt or being stuck in the middle of the woods with Duckie and a gun and thinking, “How the heck are we going to get out of this without our friends here?” I think those fish-out-of-water stories are always fun, as are the interesting pairings you wouldn’t think. This last season we had Jimmy invite Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) to paint some pictures with him and drink some wine to relax and they ended up kind of getting in the middle of a bar room brawl at a paint and wine tasting. You wouldn’t expect that pairing to come up, but because it did, we got a great storyline out of it. And I’m hoping for more of that kind of action.

Q) What do you think it is about Jimmy that continues to make him such a special character to you?

A) It’s interesting. Once I realized this show might go for a little while, I wanted this guy to be an optimist. I wanted him to look at the glass and say “it’s half overflowing.” I figured if I’m going to be playing this character for a long time, I want to step into those shoes each day instead of tortured shoes where I’m saying, “It’s hard to go to work.” I love going to work. We all have our down days, of course, but Jimmy Palmer is a guy who says, “I’m ready to go and I’m excited to be here.” It’s not about a nativity. It’s about optimism and a self-fulfilled happiness. I think that’s refreshing. I think it’s certainly refreshing for viewers to see that on TV and I also think that, just for me as an actor, it makes it a pleasure to play.

Q) What do you think it is about “NCIS” that continues to make it such a fan favorite series?

A) Honestly, I think it’s the characters that make it that. That’s not to pat the back of all of the actors or anything like that. There’s a ton of people that go into making these characters who they are. The writers, creators of the show and the writing staff that write this week in and week out (in collaboration with our crew, the camera department and our script department, makeup department together) creates this cast of characters that really does act as a family together. You see that they care for one another. They have one another’s back and I think that’s something people like to see, especially in this era of news coverage 24 hours a day. Sometimes it gets a bit much and you want to have something to have it be your old standby, trusted entertainment. There is “NCIS” every Tuesday at 8pm. You can be sure you’re going to see Papa Gibbs (Mark Harmon) there and all the kids at play and doing their thing. I think that’s what people really fall in love with. It’s a formula that has worked really well for us.

Q) Is there anything else you want to be sure to share with our readers about this season of “NCIS?”

A) September 24^th at 8pm – don’t miss it! You don’t want to be the only one closing their ears and saying, “No spoilers!” People are going to be talking about it, I’m hoping. Check out the preview that has been posted online. I think it’s, honestly, one of the best previews that we’ve ever had. I called up our showrunner and said, “Who cut that thing?! It’s amazing!” It’s my favorite preview that I’ve seen in so many years. It’s very cinematic and very cool.

Q) You are a part of social media. Do you enjoy the instant fan feedback you receive to episodes?

A) I do. I do. And I think it’s important. Television is a fan-based industry, for sure. We’re nothing without our fans. If people don’t tune in then we’re back looking at the want ads. So, there is something to that. If this show is trending and people are talking about it and they are saying they loving it then we’re headed in the right direction. This boat is going down the right path. Likewise, if people say, “That didn’t connect with me at all,” and you see that continually then, cool. Maybe next time we don’t make those same mistakes as a performer, writer and as show creators. I think it provides an awesome window into what the fan universe is thinking about some stuff. Obviously, you can go down some rabbit holes and get stuck a little bit if you go down it too much. I think if you look at the broad consensus and really listen to that it’s a great way to see what people are really thinking of your show.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and the work you do?

A) I think, like I just said, if it weren’t for those people watching that show and reading your piece, I wouldn’t have a job. I wouldn’t have this opportunity and I wouldn’t be speaking to you. The biggest thing I would say is thank you to all the people who are watching continually and faithfully each week. And as long as keep watching and we keep enjoying what we’re doing we get to keep creating shows. This year it’s going to be twenty-four more of them. I hope we get to keep impressing folks. Even in our seventeenth season, we get to keep throwing some curve balls here and there and that they enjoy it. Number one, above all us, I would say thank you. I know how rare it is to have what it is I have and what we’ve built over the past seventeen years and I’m never going to go a day without having some real gratitude for that.