Fimmel grew up on a farm outside of Echuca, Victoria, Australia, as the youngest of three brothers. At the age of eighteen, Fimmel moved to Melbourne, Victoria to play football and study project management at RMIT University. However, his football career was cut short by a broken leg. He began modelling in 1998, when Fimmel was approached in a Melbourne gym by Matthew Anderson, a booker from Chadwick Models, with an offer to join the agency. Fimmel later rose to prominence as the star of Calvin Klein's "Crave" advertising campaign and playing the title role in The WB network's failed television series Tarzan. Fimmel was the first male model to sign a six figure deal to represent Calvin Klein exclusively.
Fimmel has appeared in two music videos, for "I'm Real" by Jennifer Lopez and "Someone to Call My Lover" by Janet Jackson.
Fimmel is an oil painter. However this talent has gone largely unnoticed in respect to his professional career.
Fimmel is currently starring with Patrick Swayze in the A&E television series The Beast, which premiered on January 15, 2009. He portrays a rookie cop, partnered with Swayze's character, a veteran cop.
