Life after Shorty - SAM'S NEXT BIG ROLE

He may have been faking it as a doctor on TV, but the actor is just the tonic for teens, something he can’t wait for his own toddlers to be!

- Donna Fleming

It was a dream role that he was incredibly grateful for and when his nine-year stint as Dr Boyd Rolleston on Shortland Street came to an end two years ago, Sam Bunkall admits he was "pretty sad". But there's been a silver lining to hanging up his stethoscope.

Not only has it given him the chance to appear on other iconic Kiwi TV shows - like a forthcoming part in the next season of The Brokenwood Mysteries – but it means he’s been able to devote more time to the most important role of his life: being a dad.

Sam and his wife Natasha Daniel are parents to Rufus, three, and Juniper, one, and life is pretty full-on, he says, as he helps his son to search for a misplaced toy while chatting to the Weekly at his Auckland home.

“We both juggle work with the kids – it’s very much a tag team operation – but it’s good that our jobs mean we can do this,” says Sam. “There’s quite a load, especially as we have chosen to do re-usable nappies instead of disposable ones, so the washing alone is a full-time job!”

Natasha, 36, known as Tash, is also an actor, as well as a producer and writer, and she says if Sam, 40, had still been doing long Shorty hours, things would have been a lot trickier.

“It’s been fantastic having him around to take some of the load with the kids,” tells Tash, who appeared in the movie M3GAN and is a producer for Proudly Asian Theatre. “I feel like he was meant to be at home with us a bit more when the kids are so dependent. We’re very fortunate to be in this position.”