Kal Penn is grateful for “Harold and Kumar”!
Kal Penn rose to fame with the successful “Harold & Kumar” franchise, but the actor is still skeptical about the third installment’s promise.
“I don’t think any of us take any of this for granted. The first ‘Harold and Kumar’ movie totally tanked at the box office. A lot of people forget this. It was only the fans who found it on DVD that gave us a chance to do a second one and now a third one. So we’ve got to wait and see [how it does].”
In the third installment of the stoner comedy, Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Penn) have grown apart and started their own families. But when Kumar shows up on Harold’s doorstep and inadvertently burns down his father-in-law’s Christmas tree, the two set out on an another ill-advised adventure to find the perfect replacement.
Neil Patrick Harris also returns to the franchise to reprise his character Neil Patrick Harris, a drug-addicted, womanizing version of himself.
Since the franchise launched, Penn has become one of the most popular Indian-American actors in Hollywood and acknowledges that he continues to be surprised by the film’s fans.
“I’ve had the blessing of working on things like ‘The Namesake’ and ‘Superman Returns’ and ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and I love those types of things and I’m always amazed to know who has seen the ‘Harold and Kumar’ movies and why,” Penn continued. “John and I were talking and we heard that Quentin Tarantino was a fan of the franchise. We had a chance to meet him a couple years ago and we were just floored that that was the case. You never really know.”
Aside from the “Harold & Kumar” franchise, Penn portrayed Dr. Lawrence Kutner on “House M.D.” and had a recurring role on “How I Met Your Mother.” The actor has also appeared in films like “Van Wilder,” “The Namesake,” “Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj” and “Epic Movie.”
Penn has also worked off-and-on at the White House as an Associate Director at the Office of Public Engagement.
Penn, whose real name is Kalpen Modi, left his recurring role on “House” in 2009 to begin his first job at the White House. He resigned in June 2010, citing “previous obligations” and filmed “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas,” but has since returned to his role.
This is the funniest scene out of the entire franchise….hahahahah I never realized how funny Neil Patrick Harris was with Kal Penn and John Cho in this movie. They all play off each other. Hilarious!
Neil Patrick Harris Brands A Ho
I met and interviewed Kal Penn about three years ago for Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Kal and the filmmakers are really nice, funny and down to earth guys. Kal was very passionate about the upcoming election, at the time.