A few weeks before the 2008 presidential election, I was working one weekend to help campaign for my friend  Jill Long Thompson, who was running for Governor or Indiana.

In late October at a campaign function in Chesterton, Indiana, Thompson arrived for an appearance with a surprise guest on hand - actor Sean Astin, a legendary Indiana persona famous for playing Notre Dame football icon "Rudy."

It turns out Astin had lent his support to Thomspn and worked to help campaign for her in the last weeks of a hard fought contest.

For years I had heard rumors of Sean Astin visiting Indiana (his wife is a native Hoosier) but never actually encountered the "Lord of the Rings" star.

After spending a considerable amount of time with the actor that afternoon, I can report that Sean Astin is a really down-to-earth guy with a great sense of humor who couldn't have been easier to talk to and kinder to the fans who came out to get a picture and autograph.

So the next time you're in Indiana and you think you see Sean Astin, it might really be him.