Interview: "The Amazing Race"’s Sam and Dan McMillen Are Neither Dumb Nor Villains

WARNING: This interview contains spoilers about the finale of The Amazing Race.

From the time viewers first met gay brothers Sam and Dan McMillen on CBS’ The Amazing Race last September, the duo made it hard to take your eyes off of them. Whether screaming at each other, swiping competitor’s taxi cabs, or playing volleyball in their undies (and forcing CBS to work overtime pixelating the footage) the two were always entertaining — and in the thick of things.

And just like Luke Adams did in the previous cycle of TAR, Sam and Dan represented the gay community well as they charged into Sunday night’s finale with a genuine shot at the million dollars. AfterElton.com caught up with the brothers to discuss their strategy in the race, their relationship and just why all that pixelation was necessary! And they didn't yell at each other once during the interview. 

AfterElton.com: Hello again guys, congratulation on making it to the end!
Sam McMillen: Thanks! It's great to talk to you guys again.

AE: Last time we talked, only one episode had aired and you were still a little nervous about how you would be edited. What do you think of the end product? Was it a fair representation?
Dan McMillen: We were happy with it in the end. We were a little upset when they first started editing us as the villains, but then we got over it. And the way they made it look like we argued so much when other teams argued just as much. I guess it's a little bit of a bummer because that's a little misleading, but we are not at all upset at being the villains or anything like that just because it was so fun. We added the drama the show needs. It was really cool to play that role.

AE: Somebody has to be the villain.
DM: Exactly. And usually it's the second or third place team. People are happy when they get beat, so that could have something to do with it.

AE: And of course, you guys were still pretty likable even being cast as the villains.
DM: It was really half and half. A lot of people were like, of course I would do exactly what they did. Being the villains was really more about game play than who we were. We took over for Lance as the villain, but I think people were annoyed with who he was rather than what they did.

Next page! Explaining the "bickering!"