Video Clip: 'A Very Harold And Kumar 3D Christmas': After years of growing apart, Harold Lee (John Cho) and Kumar Patel (Kal Penn) are thrown together again - just in time for a holiday misadventure. Opens in theaters Nov. 4.
Kal Penn says working at the White House was a humbling experience after being an actor. / Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Loveable stoners Penn and John Cho, left, are at it again in A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas. / Darren Michaels/SMPSP
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What do vulgarity, Christmas and the White House have in common? Kal Penn, known to fans as the second half of the goofy movie duo Harold and Kumar. A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, the third in the popular series, opens next Friday. (Don’t let the name fool you: It’s rated R, so leave the kids at home.)
Hard to imagine that only months ago, Kumar, er, Penn was meeting regularly with the president — of the United States. The actor took a Hollywood hiatus to work in Washington for the White House’s Office of Public Engagement.
We asked Penn, 34, who also has a role in Christmas co-star and buddy Neil Patrick Harris’ CBS sitcom, How I Met Your Mother, about his dual life:
White House days:
Penn, who was an associate director in the White House’s Office of Public Engagement, heading up Youth Outreach, says no one cared who he was. “I shared an office with six other people. [It was] literally the exact opposite of making Harold & Kumar 3.”
Obama and me:
Penn says he was with the president “whenever you were required to staff him for something, whenever he would come into meetings with advocacy organizations or briefing him before a phone call.”
President's take on Harold & Kumar:
Penn’s not sure. But, he adds hopefully, “I know he’s got a very wide, eclectic taste in comedies.”
Star treatment:
None, says Penn, who left his role on TV’s House to take the White House job. “Thankfully, it was still the humbling experience I was looking for. The stakes are so high; everyone’s focused on getting the economy back on track. There isn’t that much room for frivolous conversation.”
Being back in Hollywood:
“It’s sort of like the yin and the yang. What I love about D.C. is the intellectual focus, and what I love about L.A. is the creative focus. It’s nice to be back and working the other part of your brain.”
Dashed hopes?
“I’m actually proud of the stuff the president has done, particularly on youth issues, everything from the health care bill [extended coverage] to student aid to [the] ‘don’t ask, don’t tell' repeal, the job stuff he’s been pushing on. The recovery, unfortunately, is a little slower. ... A lot of folks in Congress are just being obstructionist. The political playing field is a bummer.”
One note towns:
“The driving conversations when you're with folks in D.C. are about the political field. In L.A., in any group of people, everybody has something to do with entertainment, whether they’re an aspiring writer, producer, director.” Penn says he prefers New York and Chicago “where there’s this incredible diversity of opinions and professions.”
Parental dreams:
Penn, who was born Kalpen Suresh Modi, says his parents were at first reluctant about his acting ambitions. “For any immigrant parent, your definition of stability is a career that’s more stable so initially, the conversation was: ‘We did not move to this country for you to be an actor.’ ... It was a little push and pull at first and then they saw it made me happy and they were very supportive after that.”
Gandhi at the dinner table:
“My grandparents, both sets, marched with Gandhi in the independence movement, those were the sorts of stories you hear at the dinner table growing up and you don’t realize they're the entire basis of America’s civil rights movement until maybe high school or early college.”
D.C. vs. Los Angeles:
“I’m more New York than either of the two of those. What I like about New York is it’s got both creativity and the public service side to it. ... It’s a great city, as an artist especially, to be around a diverse group of people. The joke in L.A. is that the most diverse place is the freeway. I love taking the subway in New York, where the billionaire sits next to the kids going to school.”
Back to The White House?
“I haven’t really decided,” says Penn about a potential return should Obama be re-elected. “I’m probably the epitome of my dad saying ‘this is not a stable career’ meaning I love mixing it up.”
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