Brian Dietzen on Getting to Write an Episode for ‘NCIS’ 19 Seasons In, and the Slow Evolution of Jimmy Palmer
variety.comChris Willman Music WriterIf there’s always been an underdog on “NCIS” throughout its 19 seasons, it’s been the nervous, happy-go-lucky guy in glasses down in autopsy played since mid-season-1 by Brian Dietzen, who’s long done a lot with less screen time than some of the characters who aren’t lab-bound.“People were sleeping on Jimmy Palmer, man,” says fellow cast member Diona Reasonover, who, as Kasie Hines, has considerable interaction with him on the top-rated series. “He’s kind of the undercover sniper of people’s favorite characters.
When they’re listing their favorite characters, he always ends up in those top three, always.”It’s not strictly about lovability: After initially arguably undervaluing the Palmer character. “NCIS” might have actually given him as big a character arc as anyone’s had on the show.
Says executive producer and writer Scott Williams, “When I got onto the show on season 9, he was the comic foil who stuttered and stammered in front of Gibbs (the recently departed Mark Harmon), and this sort of naive, wide-eyed babe in the woods that was being, you know, administered to her ministered to by David McCallum.
He could play that with his eyes closed, but after awhile, we needed to add some dimension to him, because Brian’s got chops for days.
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