Kal Penn facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kal Penn
Penn in January 2013
Born	Kalpen Suresh Modi (1977-04-23) April 23, 1977 (age 48) Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.
Education	University of California, Los Angeles (BA)
Occupation	Actor author
Years active	1997–present
Political party	Democratic
Partner(s)	Josh (2010–present)

Kalpen Suresh Modi (Gujarati: કલ્પેન સુરેશ મોદી born April 23, 1977), known professionally as Kal Penn, is an American actor, author, and a former staff member at the White House. He worked for the Barack Obama administration.

As an actor, he is well-known for playing Lawrence Kutner on the TV show House. He also played White House staffer Seth Wright on Designated Survivor. You might also know him as Kevin, a psychologist and boyfriend to Robin in How I Met Your Mother. He is also famous for his role as Kumar Patel in the Harold & Kumar film series. Another important role was in the movie The Namesake.

In 2009, Kal Penn joined the Obama administration. He worked as an associate director in the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs. His job was to connect with Asian Pacific Americans and people in the arts. Because of this, his character on House had to leave the show. Penn took a short break from his White House job in 2010 to film a movie. He returned to his White House role after the movie was finished. In 2011, he left the White House again to act in How I Met Your Mother.

From 2016 to 2019, he starred as Seth Wright in the TV show Designated Survivor. He also helped the show as a consultant. He hosted the game show Superhuman. In 2019, Penn played Garrett Modi in the NBC comedy series Sunnyside.

Early Life and Education

Kalpen Suresh Modi was born in Montclair, New Jersey, on April 23, 1977. His parents were Hindu Indian immigrants from Gujarat. His mother, Asmita Bhatt, works with perfumes, and his father, Suresh Modi, is an engineer. Kal Penn often visited Gujarat as a child during school breaks. He can speak some Gujarati and Hindi. He has shared that stories about his grandparents marching with Mahatma Gandhi during the Indian independence movement made him interested in politics.

Kal Penn went to Marlboro Middle School in Marlboro Township, New Jersey. There, he played the baritone saxophone in the jazz band. He studied theater at The Fine and Performing Arts Academy for his freshman year. Then, he moved to Freehold Township High School for his last three years. Both schools are in the Freehold Regional High School District in New Jersey. He was very active in school plays and competed on the Speech and Debate team. After high school, he went to UCLA. He studied both film and sociology, earning his degree in 2000.

Acting Career Highlights

Penn's first movie role was in 1998 in Express: Aisle to Glory. Since then, he has been in many films. These include American Desi, Van Wilder, Malibu's Most Wanted, and A Lot Like Love. He also appeared in Dude, Where's the Party?, Love Don't Cost a Thing, Superman Returns, and Epic Movie. His role in The Namesake was very important. He is also well-known for the Harold & Kumar film series. On TV, he appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

Penn says he chose the acting name "Kal Penn" almost as a joke. He wanted to see if an English-sounding name would help him get more auditions. It worked, and his audition calls went up by 50 percent. He prefers his birth name and uses "Kal Penn" only for his acting work.

In January 2007, Penn was in four episodes of the sixth season of 24. He played Ahmed Amar, a teenage character. That same month, he appeared in the comedy Epic Movie and the TV show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In May 2007, Penn won the Asian Excellence Award for Outstanding Actor for his work in The Namesake. In late 2007, Penn joined the cast of the medical drama House on Fox. He played a doctor applying for a fellowship.

Penn became a regular on House and continued with the series until April 2009. He also made a special appearance in the show's fifth-season finale. Penn returned to the show for the series finale later on.

Besides House, he is most famous for his role as Kumar Patel in the Harold & Kumar movies.

Penn had a recurring role on How I Met Your Mother in its seventh season. He played Kevin, a therapist and later a boyfriend of Robin Scherbatsky. Starting in 2013, Penn hosted Big Brain Theory: Pure Genius on the Discovery Channel. In 2013, Penn joined the cast of We Are Men.

In 2014, he was cast in the film Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain. This movie is about the Bhopal gas tragedy, which was a major industrial disaster. Penn played Detective Fontanelle White on the CBS comedy-drama Battle Creek.

In October 2016, Penn began a regular role in the ABC drama series Designated Survivor. He played Seth Wright, a White House speechwriter. After the original press secretary died, his character became the Press Secretary. Penn also worked as a political consultant for the show. Netflix renewed the show for a third season, which came out in June 2019.

Penn has shown interest in working in Indian cinema, especially in Gujarati cinema.

On March 7, 2019, Penn was cast as Garrett Modi in the NBC comedy Sunnyside. The series was ordered on May 6, 2019.

On May 9, 2020, Penn was cast as a lead in the 2021 CBS thriller drama series Clarice. This show is a sequel to the movie The Silence of the Lambs.

In 2021, Penn was set to produce and star in the movie Superfan. This film tells the story of Nav Bhatia.

In 2022, he played Simon Choksi/Santa on The Santa Clauses. For this role, he was nominated for an award.

In 2023, Penn was a guest star in the Netflix animated series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.

Political Involvement

Kal Penn speaking at a rally for President Barack Obama at the University of Maryland's Nyumburu Cultural Center

Penn supported Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2007 and 2008. He was also part of Obama's National Arts Policy Committee. He appeared in a video supporting Barack Obama called "Sí Se Puede Cambiar". He also appeared with comedian George Lopez at a celebration for Obama's inauguration in January 2009.

In early 2009, Penn was offered a job as an Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs. He accepted this role. This meant his character, Lawrence Kutner, had to be written out of the TV series House. In his new job, Penn worked to connect with Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities. He started using his birth name, Kalpen Modi, for this role.

Penn had made a promise to film a movie before starting his White House job. So, he left his position on June 1, 2010, to return to acting. He came back to the White House on November 15, 2010, after finishing the movie A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas.

Penn was a co-chair for Obama's reelection campaign in 2012. On September 3, 2012, he hosted coverage of the 2012 Democratic National Convention. In his speech at the convention, Penn encouraged young people to register to vote. He also spoke about Obama's achievements.

On November 18, 2013, Obama appointed Penn to serve on the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. On February 28, 2014, Penn was the host for the White House Student Film Festival.

Penn supported Bernie Sanders for the 2016 Democratic nomination. He later campaigned for Hillary Clinton after she became the nominee.

In August 2017, Penn and other members of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities resigned. They did this to protest President Donald Trump's comments about a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

During the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, Penn showed interest in the ideas of Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren. He later supported Joe Biden after Biden became the nominee. Penn also supported Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential election.

Other Activities

In 2008, Penn was a visiting lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania. He taught a course called "Images of Asian Americans in the Media."

In 2014, Penn was studying for a graduate certificate in international security from Stanford University.

On January 2, 2017, Penn won the "MasterChef Celebrity Showdown." He donated his $25,000 prize to UNRWA. This is a United Nations agency that helps Palestinian refugees. On January 28, 2017, after a mean comment on his Twitter page, Penn started a fundraiser for refugees of the Syrian Civil War. He raised over $813,000. This happened during a time when President Donald Trump had put a ban on immigration from several countries.

Filmography

Film

Television

See also

• Indians in the New York City metropolitan area