Connor S. Sample Jr. became an internet sensation overnight when federal agencies no longer would accept Maine IDs for official purposes. Maine is one of a handful of states that has updated their drivers licenses and ID cards to federal standards under the REAL ID Act, and that has put Connor in the spotlight this week as the man featured in the sample Maine driver's license.

I took some time to sit down with Connor and learn more about the man who we've seen in the news so much lately.

Jeff: Tell us how you became the subject of the sample IDs used by Maine.

Connor: It was all coincidence really. I got a phone call from Maine's Secretary of State back in 2011. He said he was going through phone books in Maine looking for someone named Sample who was willing to be used on the Maine driver's license sample card. He told me he'd been looking for weeks and everyone kept turning him down. I was curious, so I asked what the job entailed, and he said they couldn't pay me, but my face would be seen at every Bureau of Motor Vehicles in Maine and on the state website. I had been hoping to get myself more exposure...hoping to get recognized. I've been modeling part time, but wanted to move onto something bigger than the Reny's flyer.

WMTW
WMTW
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Jeff: Do you think you've been snubbed by Hollywood because of your below average height of 5'6"?

Connor: Maybe, but there are lots of short, successful actors. Michael J. Fox, Seth Green, Daniel Radcliffe, Martin Freeman....they're all an inch shorter than me. They may be typecast as children and hobbits, but they're still successful. I think I can be too.

Jeff Parsons
CBS 13
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Jeff: You were born in 1966, making you 51-years-old, yet you still have the face of a man in his mid-20's. What's your secret to looking so young?

Connor: Moisturizer. Lots of it. Neutrogena Oil-Free with SPF 14. I also use a thickening shampoo to help prevent hair loss. I take care of my body. It's hard work, but I think I'm getting results. I still get carded all the time. They look at my ID and do a double take and then realize that yes, my last name really is Sample.

Jeff: Where exactly is Any Town, Maine?

Connor: It's a small town in Western Maine that a lot of people have never heard of. You know that sign with all the Maine foreign town names? We're on it. I think it's named after a similar town in Belgium.

Google Streetview
Google Streetview
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Jeff: So what's next for you now that you've gotten all this recognition this week?

Connor: Well, people being unable to get into military bases and nuclear facilities with a Maine ID is just the jumping off point for me. The state has until January of 2018 to comply with the REAL ID act or Mainers won't be able to get on a plane with a Maine driver's license. My license expires on March 1, but I hope to get it renewed so that if the state doesn't meet the deadline, my face will be out there again just waiting to be discovered. Fingers crossed.

 

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