---
name: "Kal Penn"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/kal-penn"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "23 April 1977"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T17:43:32.821108+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Kal Penn

Actor. Born 23 April 1977 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 23 April 1977, Montclair, New Jersey, USA
- **Active:** 2004–2005
- **Also known as:** Kalpen Suresh Modi, Cal Pen

## Biography

Kal Penn, born Kalpen Suresh Modi, is an American actor. He is credited on *Son of the Mask* (2005) as Jorge.

Penn trained at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is known for the role of Kumar Patel in the *Harold & Kumar* film series, beginning with *Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle* (2004), and for Lawrence Kutner on the television series *House* (2004–2010). Other credits include *The Namesake* (2006) and *Designated Survivor* (2016–2019).

From 2009 to 2011 he served as Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement under President Barack Obama. In 2021 he published the memoir *You Can't Be Serious*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, kalpenn.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Son of the Mask* (2005), Fi1m 20, as Jorge — [page](https://film.one/film/son-of-the-mask.md)

## Also credited on (not yet reviewed)

- *House* (2004), Actor

## Also known for

- *The Big Bang Theory* (2007), Kevin Campbell
- *American Horror Story* (2011), Mac Marzara
- *How I Met Your Mother* (2005), Kevin Venkataraghavan
- *Superman Returns* (2006), Stanford
- *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (1999), Henry Chanoor
- *Smile* (2022), Dr. Morgan Desai
- *Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle* (2004), Kumar Patel
- *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* (1997), Hunt — [page](https://film.one/tv/buffy-the-vampire-slayer.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/kal-penn