Dillon Thigpen

Dillon Thigpen (1985-2006) was a 1999 BOUNCer in Season 1, born in Bergenfield, New Jersey. He also starred in Happy House and Secret Smile.

Dillon died in late 2006. Hi, I'm Dillon! As a little boy I didn't think of becoming an actor, there were much more important things to consider: a life as a missionary for instance; an explorer, a doctor, an Egyptologist, a diplomat, an army officer, a magician. Some years later, half way through an Arts/Law course at Sundown City School, I realised I could fulfil all these ambitions and not waste years in tiresome solitude studying in darkened libraries or being shackled to some thankless apprenticeship... I could become an actor. The irony that I would spend the next three years of my life living/ eating/ sleeping basically nothing but the rudiments of my chosen career was entirely lost on me. They say actors never grow up; that we're just adolescents always pretending. I don't think so. I think it's just that we try not to forget what every part of our lives was like; each experience, all the feelings; the happy, the sad, the carefree, the tragic. It's sort of a reference library of emotions to be borrowed from for every new role. That's why I love being on BOUNCE. Free range in the lending library of childhood! I love revisiting these early formative years. I still remember mine vividly. The wonder of new stories; the excitement of creating magical forms from simple everyday things; the freedom of singing, of playing, and the insatiable appetite of the imagination. "And to all you BOUNCers out there...""It's great to think that I'm contributing to other children's imagining and learning and having such fun myself!"""- Dillon