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Kal Penn
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Kal Penn (born Kalpen Modi on April 23, 1977) is an American actor. He may be best known for his starring roles in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and National Lampoon's Van Wilder Penn was born in Montclair, New Jersey of Gujarati Indian ancestry. He is a graduate of Freehold Township High School and The Fine and Performing Arts Specialized Learning Center. He is a graduate of University of California, Los Angeles where he double majored in Film and Sociology. While at UCLA, Kal was a founding member of the underground intellectual society, "6 South." Due to creative differences the group
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Kal Penn was born Kalpen Suresh Modi in Montclair, NJ and attended the Performing and Fine Arts Center at Howell High School in Farmingdale, NJ. He is of Gujarati Indian descent. He attended UCLA and is currently working towards a Graduate Certificate in International Security at Stanford University. His father is an engineer and his mother holds a master's in chemistry.
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Kal Penn, best known for Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and Fox’s House, now has a new role — campaigner extraordinaire. The actor has made several appearances in Iowa and elsewhere to support Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama. Here’s TV Guide’s exclusive interview with Penn from the campaign trail.
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Actor Kal Penn, nee Kalpenn Modi, has taken on a new role, that of "guest professor" at the University of Pennsylvania. The actor will instruct two courses within the college's Asian American studies program: "Images of Asian Americans in the Media," and "Contemporary American Teen Films." The New Jersey native is currently commanding big screens in the excellent, not-to-be-missed film The Namesake - an adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri's eponymous novel - but Penn is most famous for his role as "Kumar" in 2004's racial identity-and-roach-clips hit Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Penn recently filmed Kumar 2, while simultaneously pursuing a graduate certificate in international security at Stanford. He received his undergraduate degree in sociology with a specialization in theater, film and television, at UCLA. Grace Kao, Penn's Asian American Studies program director, said, "Mr. Modi is one of the leading Asian American actors of his generation and is particularly aware of how his racial and ethnic identification has affected his professional experiences."
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Kal Penn is hardly a household name, but if his starring role in Harold and Kumar go to White Castle takes off as many suspect, Kal could well be the next name in Hollywood comedy. Yet it hasn't been easy for this son of Indian immigrants. Yet, despite Harold and Kumar as the first mainstream studio comedy featuring leads by two Asian American actors, Penn says that it is a common misconception that there is a shortage of Asian Americans looking for work. "From my experiences there's no shortage of very talented performers of colour.
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Kal Penn was born in Montclair, New Jersey on April 23rd, 1977. He is a graduate of Freehold Township Highschool and a graduate of the University of California where he double majored in Film and Sociology. Penn made his feature film debut with Express: Aisle to Glory. He has since appered 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 and Superman Returns and will be a part of the upcoming The Namesake, Harold & Kumar Go to Amsterdam, and Van Wilder 2: Rise of the Taj. In January 2007, Penn will appear in a recurring role as a villain in the sixth season of 24. Overall he deserves an above average.
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Kal Penn