Actor Kal Penn's Surprise Suicide on 'House' Opens Way to Job With Obama White House
New Jersey-born actor Kal Penn, who played a stoner Guantanamo Bay escapee in the movies and a doctor on TV's "House," has scored a job in the White House. Way to go, dude!
Penn, 31, will become associate director in the White House Office of Public Liaison, administration officials confirmed Tuesday. The Indian-American film star will be an emissary to the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities, along with arts and entertainment groups.
Penn campaigned extensively throughout the country for President Obama last year and was a hit on college campuses.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Penn explained why he decided to leave "House." His character inexplicably committed suicide in an episode that aired Monday night.
"I was incredibly honored a couple of months ago to get the opportunity to go work in the White House," Penn explained. "I got to know the President and some of the staff during the campaign and had expressed interest in working there."
Penn described the office as the "front door" of the White House, saying he'll be responsible for doing outreach with the American public.
"They take out all of the red tape that falls between the general public and the White House," he said. "It's similar to what I was doing on the campaign."
Penn gained fame as the co-star of the raucous and profane "Harold and Kumar" stoner comedies that have become a cult favorite with fans worldwide. The first installment, "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle," followed the misadventures of two New Jersey guys with a pot-stoked craving for their favorite burgers.
He famously smoked weed with a fictional President Bush in the sequel, "Harold and Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo Bay,"
Penn also starred in Mira Nair's 'The Namesake,' and played a terrorist in a recurring role on "24."
Penn acknowledged that ditching Hollywood for Washington comes with a massive pay cut.
"There's not a lot of financial reward in these jobs," he said. "But, obviously, the opportunity to serve in a capacity like this is an incredible honor."
As it turns out, Penn will not be working in the White House, per se. His office will be in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, located next to the West Wing and housing most of the White House staff.
Penn, born in Montclair, New Jersey, said he's long been interested in both the arts and public service. His grandparents marched with Gandhi in the Indian independence movement, "and that was always in the back of my head."
A UCLA graduate, Penn has been taking courses in international security at Stanford University.
On the campaign trail, Kumar helped get actor friend Brendan Rough, aka Superman in "Superman Returns," to stump for Obama. On occasion, they campaigned together.
Asked if he's giving up acting, Penn replied, "Not necessarily."
"Who's to say where any path leads?" he said. "I still have a passion for it. But for the time being, I won't be acting."
Reader Comments
"Asian" is just something the census used to make counting people easier
To people who complain about Kalpenn Modi not being one of the "Big Three Oriental" types of Asian (Chinese, Korean, Japanese), you should consider for a moment that America could not care less about individual ethnicities. Rather, this is a melting pot (or pluralisitc society, depending on your tastes) of a country. Having Kalpenn Modi represent a continent may not be ideal in terms of true representation, but it gets the job done when it comes to the show up, "pencil sharpening" type of job that our President has handed to him.
Asia
Julie, your must be basking in your ignorance. What better choice for the Asian and Pacific Islander community than an Asian? Yes, Kalpen Suresh Modi IS an Asian-American, just as much an Asian-American as you are. You OBVIOUSLY wouldn't have made a choice that represents the Asian community because you would have chosen someone who represents YOU alone! Well, you and your friends.
Maybe his parents weren't poor laundry workers, or nail polishers, but they were definitely Indian immigrants, and probably didn't speak much English at home. If they did, so what? Doesn't that just mean they were somewhat educated? As an Asian, his life story should be an inspiration and a model, not a contrast that you feel as offensive to Asian Americans. His grandparents marched with Ghandi. What did yours do? Wash clothes? If so, does that mean you are more Asian than he is?
Where are you from? As far as I know, China is nothing like South Korea, and South Korea is nothing like North Korea, which is nothing like Uzbekistan, which is nothing like Pakistan, which is nothing like India, which is nothing like Tibet, which is nothing like Indonesia, which is nothing like Hawai'i (yes, Hawai'i is a Pacific Island), which is nothing like Japan, which is nothing like Eastern Russia. So... who would YOU have chosen to represent all these countries that have thousands of sub-cultures within them???
Congratulations to Kal Penn
Julie, Asia is the largest and, possibly, the most ethnically diverse continent on earth. There is no one who embodies the experiences of immigrants from a single Asian nation, much less *all* of Asia. Just as Kal Penn doesn't represent you and your friends, had you (or someone with your background) been appointed, you would not have had the experiences growing up that he had.
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He is extremely personable -- an excellent trait for someone who's job it is to be the public face of some of the White House's efforts. His fame has garnered much more press coverage for this new office than the appointment of a career public servant could ever have done. Most importantly, he is extremely intelligent. I have no doubt that his staff will include a variety of Asian-Americans and that he will avail himself of all the information they bring with them.
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I will miss "Kutner." He was my favorite among the new fellows. But House's loss is the White House's gain.
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