Olazábal was born in Santa Maria, California. His acting career started in 2001 in Law & Order. He then appeared in The Education of Max Bickford in 2002 and Bad Boys II in 2003 as Detective Marco Vargas. Along with Law & Order, he has starred in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In 2006, he starred in Charmed and Inside Man. He appeared in House and Numb3rs in 2007. In Season 3 of Dexter, he starred as Ramon Prado in 9 episodes as a lieutenant, grieving over the loss of his brother, and later in the season, his other brother. He jointly received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series", along with other Dexter co-stars. He appeared in The Unit in 2009 and became a recurring character in Make It or Break It as Alex Cruz.