When the script writers elect to kill off a popular television series character with a suicide instead of a car crash, you know that somebody needs to make an exit that's fast -- and within budget.
That's exactly what Kal Penn, a member of the ensemble cast that has helped make "House" such a hit for Fox, needed this week when he announced he is putting aside acting, at least for now, to become an associate director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. His job there, he said on a conference call with reporters, will focus on outreach to young people, arts professionals and the Asian American community. In fact, the 31-year-old Indian-American heartthrob is thought to be the first of a number of Hollywood figures who will be added to the office, as the administration moves to cement President Obama's ties to the entertainment industry.
Hollywood played such a major role in Obama's election that many in town have been wondering just how he planned to use the entertainment industry. It now seems clear that Obama intends to sell his programs to the country in a kind of permanent campaign, with town hall meetings and speeches on factory floors. And Hollywood talent will be playing a part.
So look for the appointment of a range of activists, like Penn, who can connect with people at the grass-roots level. By the end of this term, a lot of actors may be able to claim the role of community organizer on their IMDB profiles.
Penn, whose breakout role was as one of the stoner costars in "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle," was part of the large contingent of Hollywood stars and executives who went beyond fundraising for Obama and hit the campaign trail on his behalf during the run-up to the Democratic National Convention.
The actor said he was a "cynical independent" when he met then-candidate Obama at a 2007 fundraiser and decided to enlist in his cause, mainly as part of the campaign's effort to turn out younger voters. The experience touched something deep in Penn's consciousness (or, perhaps, karma, since his grandparents marched with Gandhi for India's independence) and reminded him of the taste for issues he'd developed while studying international security at Stanford.
He first raised the idea of joining the new administration in a brief personal conversation with Obama during the inaugural festivities in Washington. A conversation with trusted presidential advisor Valerie Jarrett followed, then came the job offer.
