“NCIS”’ Brian Dietzen Reveals How Mark Harmon Saved Him When He Was Feeling ‘Very Intimidated’ on the Show

• n Brian Dietzen and Diona Reasonover’s new podcast, NCIS: Partners & Probes, he reflected on his early days on NCIS
• Dietzen joined as Dr. Jimmy Palmer in the series’ debut in 2004 and admitted that he had “anxiety” during the first few seasons
• He recalled one time when he was given last-minute lines to memorize, and Mark Harmon, along with Pauley Perrette, helped get him through the scene

Brian Dietzen may now be a seasoned veteran on NCIS, but he started out “very intimidated.”

In the debut episode of the new podcast NCIS: Partners & Probies, which the actor, 48, hosts with co-star Diona Reasonover, he reflected on his years-long run on the popular drama series. First stepping into his role as Dr. Jimmy Palmer in season 1, more than two decades ago, Dietzen recalled being “very intimidated.”

“I had a lot of anxiety about going to work, about NCIS,” he revealed. “The way it would manifest itself would just be a little bit of cold sweat stuff and I think swallowing my words more than I would have if I was onstage. And not maybe being my full self in front of the camera at times.”

One memory that stands out to Dietzen was during the “third or fourth season, Ducky [David McCallum] was kidnapped or something, and Jimmy needs to explain these X-rays to Gibbs [Mark Harmon] and Abby [Pauley Perrette], and maybe DiNozzo [Michael Weatherly].”

He explained that the then-showrunner Donald P. Bellisario sent him a new script that “was medical jargon for two full pages,” causing Dietzen to panic.

“They said purposefully, they held them and they said, ‘We’re doing this in 15 minutes,’ ” he noted. “And I was sitting there on my trailer steps looking at it going, ‘Oh gosh, I’m about to have a heart attack, have a panic attack.’ And Harmon’s head pokes out his trailer — ‘Brian, you need help?’ Weatherly’s head pokes out, ‘Dietzen, you good? You want some help?’ And I was like, ‘Okay, thanks, guys. Thanks.’ “

As he scrambled to memorize the new material, Dietzen said Harmon, who later exited as a series regular in 2021, noticed his nerves and offered some words of support.

Dietzen, who is one of the few remaining original cast members still on the hit procedural in season 23, said that the director praised him for his performance afterward. It was then that he began to feel comfort and confidence knowing that his castmates had his back.

“A lot of my anxiety started coming down after that because I remember thinking, ‘These people are like here for me. These people are a family here, and we want to see each other succeed and we want to be here to support one another,’” he said. “That was a real sea change for me, a real paradigm shift.”