Bigley was born in Yuba City, California, and studied acting at DePaul University, in Chicago, Illinois. He began learning comedy as a defense mechanism to stave off bullying, Bigley began his acting career in San Francisco, California, Bigley appeared in a seven-month run of "Killer Joe" at Profiles Theatre in Chicago. He also performed in "A Separate Peace" at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater. After working with actor Vince Vaughn on a TV pilot, Bigley moved to Los Angeles in 2010 and worked jobs including catering for a Jerry Springer game show on GSN, Baggage. He landed a part in Vaughn's 2011 movie The Dilemma and went on to appear onscreen in film and television, including on the series Bones, CSI: Miami and Chicago Code before winning the role of rookie EMT Brian Czyk the USA Network series Sirens.