KEY POINTS:
When Tammy Davis first moved to Avondale, or as he calls it, "Avondallay", he cruised over to his next-door neighbour's place to introduce himself.
"I heard him start his ute and I said 'How's it going mate? My name's Tammy and I like the sound of your car.
He says 'Come on mate, let's go for a ride' and after we got back I was like, 'Bro that's mean', and he said, 'You're in the west. This is Westie!"'
Davis is not a true-blue Westie himself, having lived everywhere from Kerikeri to Raetihi and Wellington. But thanks to his natural charm, talkative nature and love of engines - he rides a motorbike - he's become an expert at playing one. In fact Davis has been so successful as Munter on Outrageous Fortune he's gone from Van's wingman in the first series to a virtual member of the West family in the second. In the third series, he even gets his own personal life.
Davis, who has also had roles in What Becomes of the Broken Hearted, Jackson's Wharf and more recently, the film Black Sheep, is upfront about his talent. Munter may be a funny guy but he takes the role very seriously. He credits his on-screen best mate Antony Starr for allowing him a few liberties during filming.
"There's a certain competitiveness about doing the best you can because both of us are good actors and either one of us could steal the scene at any one time."
Munter was originally meant to be a weedy white guy with a mental age of about eight; it wasn't until Davis was cast that he evolved into what writer James Griffin calls a "naive philosopher". Even if he's helping Van nick something, smoke something or sweet-talk his way out of something, it's impossible not to warm to his wistful ways, his connection to a higher power that isn't just pot-related.
But it was that early description of his character - as a petty crim who smokes weed and likes his beer - that didn't sit well with Davis.
"He was a fringe character that I don't think a lot of energy had been put into. I put a lot of hard work into him. I didn't agree with what they had written for me. Munter implies that he is a munter and is munted all the time."
He got thinking about real crims and decided that even with his derogatory nickname, Munter was cleverer than that.
"I decided I wasn't going to make him stupid. We have gangs and crims in society and they don't survive by being stupid people. The dumb ones are in jail."
Griffin: "We went, 'Oh, that's not quite what we were thinking but it's something a bit different. And out of that evolved Munter's more philosophical side, someone in touch with the land. The character evolved and all through the first season it was one of those great situations where Tammy would bring something in and we'd go, 'Ooh I quite like that'."
The biggest story to come out of it was his friendship with Van, "The greatest love story on television" says Griffin.
When Van hooked up with Aurora and went off to buy their first house, and Munter became a third wheel in the process, it was further evidence he'd wormed his way in as a core character.
Then, when he turned up at the West house with nowhere else to go, Cheryl told him to get lost. She didn't want his impending court case over stealing car doors to jeopardise her fledgling relationship with policeman Judd.
But poor old Munter was loyal to the end, donating the last of his money so Van and Aurora could buy their house. When the sale fell through, they spent the money on weed and the episode ended with Van and Munter sliding down the hill on car doors.
"He's a fully-fledged member of the West family now," says Griffin. "He's not just a wingman any more and there are certain responsibilities that come with that kind of growth. He has to think about his life and develop some ambition, actually grow up."
Could that mean there's romance in Munter's future? It does seem a bit unfair that Van, who is quite stupid, is shacked up, and Munter has only had one memorable on-screen pash, care of the hot chick in the Outrageous Fortune Christmas special. And that the first episode of the new series opens with a sequence of amorous couples, none of which include Munter.
Well he could be in luck this season when a certain part of his anatomy is nicknamed "the Mighty Munt".
"People are taking notice that he's got this big penis," says Davis. "But he's becoming quite shy about it, he doesn't want anyone to know. It's the story that's funny. So you play it serious that he's worried about it, and people will find that funny."
Munter isn't Davis' only funny role of late. In Jonathan King's parody-zombie movie Black Sheep he played a laidback farmhand who becomes zombiefied, and he had a small role in Taika Waititi's Eagle vs Shark.
He also proved his dramatic mettle in the Once Were Warriors sequel What Becomes of the Broken Hearted, playing Mookie, and has starred in (among others) Fracture, Whale Rider, Makatu, The Wild Ones and the coastal copper TV series, Jackson's Wharf.
There's an affable Kiwi charm about Davis that comes across in all his roles, whether or not he's on the right side of the law. Davis became aware of the dangers of casting when Outrageous' former producer Mike Smith asked him if he really wanted the role.
"I asked him why and he said, 'I feel like I'm typecasting you'. When I played Mookie people said 'Oh you're just playing yourself'. I was cast in Jackson's Wharf and they said 'You're just playing yourself'. Personality-wise, there are parts of me that are very similar to Munter. But the honest truth is I don't smoke marijuana, I don't drink all the time like the family do, I'm not a petty crim."
Whereas some actors claim to abandon themselves on screen, Davis says it's the opposite that has made him a success. Although Munter is about 23 and single and Davis is 31 with a partner and 1-year-old daughter, he likes to cast his mind back to himself at that age and use that in his acting.
"When I play him, I try and implement as much of what I know now to make him quite a wise young man who can still make a whole lot of bad decisions but can come away from them thinking a bit more worldly."
That's why Munter is so likeable, says Griffin.
"Tammy's a great bloke. He's good fun to be around. He thinks a lot about what he does, he's very loyal to the people around him. I always enjoy my conversations with Tammy and not just the ones late at night over a few beers."
As for that motorbike, it's not as Westie as you might think.
"Oh it's just a little scooter," Davis admits. "I loaned it to my mate and he crashed it. He got it fixed but it just falls apart. But the best thing about them is you don't have to have a warrant - it's only 50CCs. I could put some pedals on it and pedal it down the street and the cops couldn't pull me over."
Spoken like a true Westie.
Lowdown
Who: Tammy Davis, who plays Munter on Outrageous Fortune
When & where: 9.30pm, Tuesday, TV3