Sam Aleni is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Rene Naufahu as part of the original cast from 1992 to 1996.

He found it strange acting in a workplace with very little fellow Polynesians and noted a scene where Sam attended a party by himself as odd, stating, "what island guy does that?

He found it particularly strange acting alongside Lucy Elliott (Dayna Jenkins), having held her as a baby when her father, Peter appeared on the soap.

However Naufahu agreed to reprise his role 3 months later,[8] to reintroduce his onscreen daughter Sophie McIntosh (Honour Aleni) into the core cast.

Paramedic Sam flatted with Steve Mills (Andrew Binns) and Alison Raynor (Danielle Cormack) and it was clear to all the staff that he was heavily religious and planned to stay celibate until marriage.

Re-embracing his faith and befriending a young tearaway named Jonah Lafa'ele, Sam paid one final visit to TP's grave, then departed for Samoa late in the year.

Sam got a job at the hospital as a paramedic and briefly dated Emma Franklin (Amy Usherwood) before he fell in love with Vasa Levi (Teuila Blakely).

Following the attack and later abduction of Honour, Sam and Vasa decided to leave Ferndale and live together as a family on the reclusive island, Akatea.

"God knows I had some hairy moments learning how to act on set, (Shortland Street was my first proper gig) but I look back on those episodes and I think that was where I came of age as an actor.

Naufahu was sceptical when he first heard TP was being killed off and recalled thinking, "her exit is gonna be pretty lame, she might choke on a KFC drumstick or something.

"[15] The car crash was written to involve several characters, including Sam, Steve, TP, Chris Warner (Michael Galvin) and Kirsty Knight (Angela Dotchin), but it was not revealed to the public who would die.

Whilst filming the stunt, paparazzi from a national newspaper arrived on location to try and capture which character would die, leading to weeks of speculation in the New Zealand entertainment media.

[16] The explosion was the final segment filmed in the scene, but Galvin noted the "Simple pleasures" they had in staying on location to witness the stunt.

[12] Sam's romance with TP (Elizabeth Skeen) alongside her death, were named as one of the most memorable story lines ever featured on the soap.

[15] The 1993 storyline that saw Sam struggle to cope with co worker Jamie Forrest's (Karl Urban) sexuality and relationship with Jonathon McKenna (Kieren Hutchison) was considered groundbreaking for New Zealand television.

[5] Naufahu's screen daughter Sophie McIntosh (Honour Aleni) enjoyed working alongside him and noted that he had taught her a lot with his vast experience.