Kal Penn ’00

In April 2009, Kal Penn ’00 left shuttered the glittering lights of his Hollywood career and took a new role as associate director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. An active participant in President Obama’s campaign, Penn’s job focuses on outreach to young people, arts professionals and the Asian American community.

Penn’s degree from UCLA bears the name Kalpen Suresh Modi. According to IMDb, Penn adopted this screen name, a modification of his first name, because he believed that his difficult foreign name would scare away potential employers. He is of Gujarati Indian descent, and as one of comparatively few Indian leading men in Hollywood, he is working to overcome typecasting and racial prejudice through his choice of roles.

In addition to his degree in sociology from UCLA, he has also studied international security at Stanford University. His family has a background in political activism, as his grandparents both marched with Gandhi for India's independence.

Penn is probably best known for his title role in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. As Kumar, he spends his time with his best friend Harold doing drugs, avoiding matriculation to medical school and trolling the streets of New Jersey in search of a particular hamburger restaurant. Off-screen, Penn is a dedicated vegetarian, and has little in common with his most famous character.
“When people find out that Kumar likes the gym over smoking weed, they get a little sad,” Penn told Entertainment Weekly.

Penn also starred in National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj, the sequel to National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, and The Namesake. He reprised his famous role of Kumar in Harold and Kumar 2: Escape from Guantanamo Bay in 2008. Penn has also appeared on the small screen in hit series 24 and Law and Order. Prior to the success of Harold and Kumar, Penn had minor roles in Spin City, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Angel and NYPD Blue. In light of his new appointment to the White House, he recently completed a two-season-long recurring role on the hit show House, in which he played Dr. Lawrence Kutner, a member of Dr. House’s diagnostic team.

On his departure from House, Penn said in a conference call with reporters, “The word I still use to describe it is bittersweet. It's not like I'm retiring from acting; I certainly intend to come back at some point. Right now, I just felt like my calling was in public service.”