King of the Castle
Harold & Kumar's Kal Penn buddies up with Ashton Kutcher—and wins a look from Mira Nair
By Sara Brady
Photographed by Meredith Jenks
Despite a discernible lack of recognition during awards season, last year's Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle did win a devoted fan base consisting primarily of 13-year-old boys and giggling stoners. Luckily for 27-year-old Kal Penn, who played Kumar, one of those 13-year-olds was the son of director Mira Nair, who was searching for a lead for her adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri's novel The Namesake. And Penn, in turn, was already a huge fan of Nair.
"Mississippi Masala was the first time I had seen people who looked like me onscreen," says Penn. "Usually it was The Simpsons or Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom."
With his role in Nair's film, due in 2006, Penn hopes to continue to tweak Indian-American stereotypes. But he's also not afraid to return to his humble dude beginnings in best friend roles (National Lampoon's Van Wilder and Malibu's Most Wanted.) In April, Penn plays wingman to Ashton Kutcher in the romantic comedy A Lot Like Love. "It's the best friend role," he says, "but it's also a pretty big function of the film." And, hey, who knows, maybe some Scorsese or Eastwood kid will be watching . . .
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Copyright © 2008 Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc.