Sam & Dan

Samuel "Sam" McMillen and Daniel "Dan" McMillen are a team of Brothers on The Amazing Race 15.

The two brothers spent most of their time in the race arguing with each other due to their differing personalities—Sam being the calmer, more level-headed one, while Dan was more aggressive and quicker to panic in difficult situations. Their competitive natures and willingness to be cutthroat led them to be the only team to work with Maria & Tiffany, but also got them into a rivalry with Flight Time & Big Easy late in the game. After outlasting their rivals and making it to the final three, Sam & Dan found themselves in the lead towards the end of the final leg, only to fail at their first attempt at counting poker chips, eventually finishing in 2nd place to Meghan & Cheyne.

Profile[]

Retrieved from CBS.com

Sam McMillen (23); Dan McMillen (21)
Hometown: Liberty, Mo.
Occupation: Students
Relationship: Brothers

Brothers for 21 years, Sam and Dan will tell you that their relationship did not truly start until last summer when they both came out and told each other that they were gay.

Growing up Christian in a conservative community, neither one of them felt comfortable enough coming out at an early age but after doing so, they've found a whole new bond with one another and instantly became closer through honesty and trust. Sam and Dan will tell you that being gay is only one of the many aspects of their lives.

Dan describes himself as organized, open-minded and spontaneous and hopes to gain a new sense of appreciation for his life from running the Race with his brother. His hobbies include exercise, volunteering and traveling.

Sam claims to be optimistic and happy-go-lucky and his hobbies include cinema, logic games and anything involving the outdoors. Communication may be the biggest challenge for this Team, as they claim to be polar opposites. From academic interests to how they approach tasks, these brothers are very different in everything they do. Due to his passive mentality, Sam will need to be more vocal to overcome Dan's blunt, assertive personality in order to contribute to the team while on the road.

Sam is pursuing a degree in medicine while Dan has one more year left at William Jewell College to complete his business degree. When asked what former Team they would model their style of play after, Sam points to Nick and Starr because they maintained a positive attitude which carried them to the $1 million prize. Dan identifies with the competitive style of Rob and Amber. Both brothers hope that the Race will take their new found closeness to the next level and help them forge an even stronger bond.^[1]

The Amazing Race 15[]

Race History[]

Sam & Dan's Race History
Episode	Leg	Destination(s)	Detour Choice (underlined)	Roadblock Performer	Placement	Notes
1	1	United States → Japan	No Detour	Dan	9 of 12
1	2	Japan → Vietnam	No Detour	Sam	2 of 11
2	3	Vietnam	Child's Play / Word Play	Sam	5 of 10
3	4	Vietnam → Cambodia	Cover / Wrap	Dan	1 of 9
4	5	Cambodia → United Arab Emirates	Build a Snowman / Find a Snowman	Dan	5 of 8
5	6	United Arab Emirates	Gold / Glass	Dan	3 of 7
6	7	United Arab Emirates → Netherlands	Farmer's Game / Farmer's Dance	Sam	1 of 6
7	8	Netherlands → Sweden	Nobel Dynamite / Viking Alphabet	Sam	4 of 5
8	9	Sweden → Estonia	Serve / Sling	Sam	2 of 5
9	10	Estonia → Czech Republic	Fast & Furious / Slow & Steady	Dan	2 of 4
10	11	Czech Republic	Legend / Lager	Dan	2 of 4
11	12	Czech Republic → United States	No Detour	Sam	2 of 3
				Average	3.17
Legend: The team finished in first place The team finished in last place and was eliminated from the race The team finished in last place in a non-elimination leg The team that won The Amazing Race The team that crossed the Finish Line second The team that crossed the Finish Line third ► The team used the Fast Forward pass ⊂ The team used the U-Turn ⊃ Recipient of the U-Turn

Post-Race[]

On May 7, 2011, Sam & Dan attended the wedding of Meghan & Cheyne.^[2]

Trivia[]

Sam is a college friend of Starr Spangler, one of the winners of The Amazing Race 13.^[3]
Sam & Dan are the youngest team to finish in 2nd place, with an age average of 22 at the time of racing.

External links[]

Interviews[]

Josh Aterovis at NowOwnNext.com (10/02/2009): "Interview: Sam and Dan McMillen, Gay Brothers on the Run on "The Amazing Race""
People.com (12/08/2009): "The Amazing Race: Bickering Brothers Still Best Friends"
Joyce Eng at TVGuide (12/08/2009): "Amazing Race's Sam and Dan: We Know Who Wayne Newton Is"
Christopher Rocchio at Reality TV World (12/08/2009): "Exclusive: Dan and Sam McMillen talk about 'The Amazing Race'"
Gina Scarpa at Reality Wanted (12/08/2009): "The Amazing Race 15: Exclusive Interview with Sam and Dan McMillen"
Digital Spy (12/07/2009): "Sam and Dan ('The Amazing Race')"