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Kal Penn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kal Suresh Penn | |
| Born | April 23, 1977 Montclair, New Jersey,  USA |
| Notable roles | Taj Mahal Badalandabad in National Lampoon's Van Wilder National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj Kumar in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle Gogol Ganguli in The Namesake |
Kal Penn (born Kalpen Suresh Modi on April 23, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, National Lampoon's Van Wilder and the recently released The Namesake (2007).
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Penn was born in Montclair, New Jersey to an engineer father and a mother who worked as a fragrance evaluator for a perfume company; both of his parents were immigrants of Gujarati Indian ancestry.[1] Penn is an alumnus of Howell High School and The Fine and Performing Arts Specialized Learning Center for three years. He graduated at Freehold Township High School where he attended for his senior year only. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles where he double majored in Film and Sociology. While at UCLA, he was a founding member of the underground intellectual society, "6 South." Due to creative differences the group disbanded but are currently considering a reunion. He also played a big role in the on-campus club, Sangam, which has also disbanded.
Took acting class with Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Penn has been a vegetarian since birth.
Though he eventually signed on, Kal Penn was close to turning down a role on "24" due to personal ethics.
Penn's feature film debut came in 1998 in Express: Aisle to Glory. He has since appeared in American Desi, National Lampoon's Van Wilder, Malibu's Most Wanted, A Lot Like Love, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Dude, Where's the Party?, Love Don't Cost a Thing, Superman Returns, National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj, Epic Movie, The Namesake, and will be a part of the upcoming Harold & Kumar Go to Amsterdam. Penn was featured in the The Lonely Island's rejected Awesometown MTV pilot music video, along with his friend Brandon Routh (who played Superman in Superman Returns). Penn also played one of Lex Luthor's henchmen in Superman Returns.
Penn says that he changed his name to Kal Penn (from Kalpen Suresh Modi) as a lark: “Almost as a joke to prove friends wrong, and half as an attempt to see if what I was told would work (that anglicized names appeal more to a white-dominated industry), I put ‘Kal Penn’ on my resume and photos." His audition callbacks rose by 50%.[2]
In January 2007, Penn appeared in the first four episodes of the sixth season of 24 as Ahmed Amar, a villain. Also in January 2007, he appeared in the spoof comedy Epic Movie as well as the television show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, where he played a recognition-starved rapist and murderer.
In spring 2008, Penn will serve as visiting professor of Asian American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.[3] He will teach two courses: “Images of Asian Americans in the Media,” and “Contemporary American Teen Films.”
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Express: Aisle to Glory | Jackie Newton | |
| 1999 | Freshmen | Ajay | |
| 2001 | American Desi | Ajay Pandya | |
| 2002 | National Lampoon's Van Wilder | Taj Mahal Badalandabad | |
| Hector | Kendal Cunningham | ||
| 2003 | Love Don't Cost a Thing | Kenneth Warman | |
| American Made | (as Kalpen Modi) Jagdesh | ||
| Malibu's Most Wanted | Hadji | ||
| Dude, Where's the Party? | Mo (Mohan Bakshi) | ||
| 2004 | Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle | Kumar Patel | |
| Ball & Chain | Bobby | ||
| 2005 | Sueño | Raj | |
| A Lot Like Love | Jeeter | ||
| Son of the Mask | Jorge | ||
| Dancing in Twilight | Sam | ||
| 2006 | National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj | Taj | completed |
| Bachelor Party Vegas | Z-Bob | ||
| Man About Town | Alan Fineberg | ||
| Superman Returns | Stanford | ||
| 2007 | The Namesake | Gogol Ganguli | Released March, 2007 |
| Epic Movie | Edward | January 26, 2007 | |
| 2008 | Under New Management | Wheeler | pre-production |
| Untitled Harold & Kumar Sequel | Kumar Patel | announced |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 24 | Ahmed Amar | |
| Law and Order: Special Victims Unit | Henry Chanoor | ||
| 2006 | The Danny Comden Project | Max | completed |
| 2004 | Homeland Security | Harrison | |
| 2003 | Tru Calling (Haunted) | Steven | |
| All About the Andersons | George | ||
| Cosmopolitan | Vandana's Fiancee | ||
| 2001 | The Agency | Malek | |
| NYPD Blue | Solomon Al-Ramai | ||
| ER | Narajan | ||
| Angel | Fez Boy | ||
| 2000 | Spin City | Buddy | |
| Sabrina, the Teenage Witch | Prajeeb | ||
| 1999 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Hunt | |
| Brookfield | Kumar Zimmerman |
- Kal Penn at the Internet Movie Database
- Kal Penn's Myspace
- Five Questions for Kal Penn, Nirali Magazine, December 2006
- Kal Penn Goes to Hollywood, Nirali Magazine, September 2004
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