Kal Penn

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Kal Penn as Associate Director of the Office of Engagement in 2013

Kal Penn (born April 23, 1977 in Montclair , New Jersey ; actually Kalpen Suresh Modi ) is an American actor and democratic politician , who was best known for the Harold & Kumar films and various series roles.

Life

Penn was born in 1977 to Indian immigrants in New Jersey, where he grew up. He later studied film studies and sociology at the University of California at Los Angeles . He began his film career in 1998 with Express: Aisle to Glory . He then had a few smaller roles in television series, including playing a student in the 1999 Buffy episode Beer Bad , who turns into a Neanderthal man through haunted beer . He played the lead role of Kumar in the 2004 stoner comedy Harold & Kumar , which Penn also played in the two sequels.

In 2007 he was seen in several episodes of Series 24 as an Arab terrorist. He was also a sports physician Dr. Lawrence Kutner Member of the regular cast of the series Dr. House , which he left after two seasons.

After retiring from the television series Dr. House worked for Penn as an associate director in the Office of Public Liaison at the White House . The Indian-born actor was commissioned by the president to take care of the government's contacts with Asian immigrants and artists. He was offered the position after campaigning for Barack Obama in 2007 and 2008. On June 1, 2010, Penn resigned from the White House and returned to acting as an actor. After completing the third part of the Harold & Kumar series, however, he returned and is now working again in the White House Office of Public Engagement. Despite his work for the US government, Penn played the role of Kevin in the seventh and ninth seasons of the sitcom How I Met Your Mother from 2011 onwards . From 2016 until she was hired after three seasons, he was a speechwriter and spokesman for the American television series Designated Survivor , where he also acted as an advisor. In 2019 he started the documentary series This Giant Beast That is the Global Economy produced for Amazon Studios , for which he acts as producer and presenter.

In 2018 he was appointed to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , which awards the Oscars , among other things .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Commons : Kal Penn  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "House MD" actor Kal Penn at the White House. In: Focus. July 7, 2009, accessed September 8, 2019 .
  2. ↑ It'll be the White House for Kal Penn now , rediff.com , April 7, 2009.
  3. ↑ Michael Ausiello: 'House' exclusive: The shocking story behind last night's big death ( Memento from April 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), Entertainment Weekly , April 7, 2009
  4. ↑ Kalpen Modi, aka Kal Penn, aka Kumar, leaves the White House, returns to showbiz . In: WashingtonPost.com . June 22, 2010. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  5. ↑ Academy invites 928 to Membersphip . In: oscars.org (accessed June 26, 2018).
personal data
SURNAME Penn, Cal
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Modi, Kalpen Suresh (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor and democratic politician
DATE OF BIRTH April 23, 1977
PLACE OF BIRTH Montclair , New Jersey