“NCIS” star Brian Dietzen is a fan of the outdoors, even if his busy production schedule doesn’t give him too much time to enjoy it.
In a new Instagram post from this afternoon, Dietzen shared an incredible photo of a scenic spot overlooking a Colorado canyon.
“Hold my calls,” Dietzen posted. “But if you really need me, I’ll be here. Colorado, I’ve missed you. You look great.”
‘NCIS’ Cast Recently Said Goodbye to a Cherished Co-Star
On “NCIS,” Dietzen plays Jimmy Palmer, the Chief Medical Examiner for the NCIS Major Case Response Team. And his co-star, Emily Wickersham, recently left the CBS drama at the end of Season 18.
Dietzen had some kind words for his fellow actor upon her departure.
“So damn proud of you my friend,” Dietzen posted to Instagram. “Also, I’m gonna miss the hell outta you on set. I can’t wait to see what you do next. Whatever it is, I’ll be there in the front row. Thank you.”
For her part, Wickersham said she’d had a great time on “NCIS,” and observed, “Time goes fast. Eat it up but chew slowly.”
Dietzen’s Character Lost His Wife to COVID-19
Dietzen had to play some difficult scenes this year on “NCIS,” as his character lost his wife to the coronavirus pandemic. The actor did get some warning ahead of time, he told Entertainment Tonight earlier this year, but he still had to steel himself to play those scenes.
“I had been told that this was going to happen, that Jimmy was going to lose his wife before I received this script,” Dietzen told ET. Then “I got a chance to speak with the writer, a new writer for our staff, Margaret Lester. I got an opportunity to talk with her quite a bit beforehand. The producers let me know that we want the advent of COVID to hit our team. And yet, we don’t want to lose a team member. So the prospect of having Jimmy lose his wife, the most optimistic team member lose someone, came to the table and they thought it would be a great storytelling mechanic – albeit very, very sad.”
“So they went ahead with it,” he explained. “I was notified ahead of time and prepared for it, I suppose, emotionally.”
Dietzen added that they were trying to convey the heartbreaking sacrifices that frontline workers sometimes have to make, because in some cases, the people in their lives suffer from their proximity to the disease. Jimmy copes with the loss of his wife through denial, and that was also designed to illustrate something – how many people haven’t had time to grieve during the pandemic.
With such emotionally fraught work to do on “NCIS,” it’s a good thing Dietzen can also take some time out to reset and commune with nature.
