Kal Penn

INDIAN-BORN director Mira Nair missed all the fanfare around the 2003 publication of "The Namesake," Jhumpa Lahiri's critically acclaimed second book examining the cultural struggles between first-generation Bengali immigrants and their American-born children. Nair, whose other credits include "Salaam Bombay" and "Monsoon Wedding," was filming "Vanity Fair" in England during the first part of the year.

EXCLUSIVE: “Late Bloomer” is one of those conceits for a movie you wish you'd thought of yourself: a man in his late 20s who's never gone through puberty, then experiences it all in one head-spinning rush after a corrective surgery. The best part is it's true. Based on Ken Baker's memoir “Man Made,” “Late Bloomer” tells of an adult who seems to experience no sexual or hormonal feelings. He is flummoxed by his lack of desire, then discovers he has a tumor on his pituitary gland.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - It had to be the first time a party convention speech inspired widespread use of the Twitter hashtag #sexyface. Kal Penn, the former White House staffer, better known to many of his peers as the star of the “Harold and Kumar” stoner movies, slyly suggested that viewers use the term when tweeting about his jocular address to Democratic delegates. And sure enough, #sexyface quickly went viral, peaking at nearly 2,000 tweets per minute at 9:32 p.m. ET, Twitter reported.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Kal Penn cracked a joke at Clint Eastwood's expense when he addressed the Democratic National Convention, but the actor said Wednesday that he holds Eastwood in the highest esteem. “Clint Eastwood is an amazing director and actor. I don't purport to be on the same level as Clint Eastwood at all,” Penn said as he finished breakfast at the Blake Hotel. On Tuesday night, Penn addressed delegates, telling them that his favorite job was working for President Obama, “a boss who gave the order to take out Bin Laden and who's cool with all of us getting gay married.” PHOTOS: Protests of the DNC “So thank you, invisible man in the chair, for that,” he said sardonically, a not-so-subtle swipe at the roundly mocked empty chair routine that Eastwood delivered on the last night of the GOP convention.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Kal Penn cracked a joke at Clint Eastwood's expense when he addressed the Democratic National Convention, but the actor said Wednesday that he holds Eastwood in the highest esteem. “Clint Eastwood is an amazing director and actor. I don't purport to be on the same level as Clint Eastwood at all,” Penn said as he finished breakfast at the Blake Hotel. On Tuesday night, Penn addressed delegates, telling them that his favorite job was working for President Obama, “a boss who gave the order to take out Bin Laden and who's cool with all of us getting gay married.” PHOTOS: Protests of the DNC “So thank you, invisible man in the chair, for that,” he said sardonically, a not-so-subtle swipe at the roundly mocked empty chair routine that Eastwood delivered on the last night of the GOP convention.

When Kal Penn worked in the White House, he sometimes briefed President Obama before meetings. Yeah, the guy who plays the marijuana-craving Kumar in silly road movies was giving the commander in chief the scoop on matters of public policy. If need be, he could also have told the president how to deal with problematic raccoons and stoned cheetahs — among the bizarre plot points of "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. " "When you're working there, you always think, 'What is the best time to tell the president that you played a stoner who escaped from Guantanamo Bay?

Kal Penn, known for his role as a stoned underachiever in the "Harold & Kumar" movies, is putting aside the doobie -- and his role as Dr. Kutner on Fox's "House" -- in exchange for a new job at the White House. The actor has been hired as an associate director at the Office of Public Liaison, where he will help the Obama administration connect with arts and entertainment groups as well as the Asian and Pacific Islander communities, according to an Associated Press report. Entertainment Weekly broke the story Tuesday in an interview on its website in which Penn stated that he will "do outreach with the American public and with different organizations."

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.

EXCLUSIVE: “Late Bloomer” is one of those conceits for a movie you wish you'd thought of yourself: a man in his late 20s who's never gone through puberty, then experiences it all in one head-spinning rush after a corrective surgery. The best part is it's true. Based on Ken Baker's memoir “Man Made,” “Late Bloomer” tells of an adult who seems to experience no sexual or hormonal feelings. He is flummoxed by his lack of desire, then discovers he has a tumor on his pituitary gland.

Comic effrontery is the Bic that lights the bong in the "Harold & Kumar" movies, but willfully strained outrageousness can turn sour like that. For a definition of "that," there's "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas," the weakest of the three. Here, the boy-men — now 30-ish men-boys, dealing with adult concerns and relationships, in addition to their perpetual White Castle jones — hunt down a Christmas tree, mix it up with Ukranian gangsters, briefly turn into Claymation-type animated versions of themselves, consort with virgins and meet Santa.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - It had to be the first time a party convention speech inspired widespread use of the Twitter hashtag #sexyface. Kal Penn, the former White House staffer, better known to many of his peers as the star of the “Harold and Kumar” stoner movies, slyly suggested that viewers use the term when tweeting about his jocular address to Democratic delegates. And sure enough, #sexyface quickly went viral, peaking at nearly 2,000 tweets per minute at 9:32 p.m. ET, Twitter reported.

Two stoners will probably have trouble stealing the loot from a group of thieves at the box office. "Tower Heist," a comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller about a bunch of crooks attempting to pull off a robbery, is poised to run away with the most ticket sales this weekend. The movie is expected to open with between $25 million and $30 million in sales, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys. That should be enough to beat out "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas," the third installment in the comedy series, which will probably collect around $16 million.

Comic effrontery is the Bic that lights the bong in the "Harold & Kumar" movies, but willfully strained outrageousness can turn sour like that. For a definition of "that," there's "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas," the weakest of the three. Here, the boy-men — now 30-ish men-boys, dealing with adult concerns and relationships, in addition to their perpetual White Castle jones — hunt down a Christmas tree, mix it up with Ukranian gangsters, briefly turn into Claymation-type animated versions of themselves, consort with virgins and meet Santa.

When Kal Penn worked in the White House, he sometimes briefed President Obama before meetings. Yeah, the guy who plays the marijuana-craving Kumar in silly road movies was giving the commander in chief the scoop on matters of public policy. If need be, he could also have told the president how to deal with problematic raccoons and stoned cheetahs — among the bizarre plot points of "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. " "When you're working there, you always think, 'What is the best time to tell the president that you played a stoner who escaped from Guantanamo Bay?

Actor Kal Penn started his new job Monday as a liaison between the White House and Asian communities. The Indian American actor, who had a recurring role on Fox's TV show "House" and starred in two "Harold and Kumar" films, is taking a break from Hollywood to work as an associate director in the Office of Public Liaison, with a focus on connecting President Obama with the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities as well as arts groups....

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.

Two stoners will probably have trouble stealing the loot from a group of thieves at the box office. "Tower Heist," a comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller about a bunch of crooks attempting to pull off a robbery, is poised to run away with the most ticket sales this weekend. The movie is expected to open with between $25 million and $30 million in sales, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys. That should be enough to beat out "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas," the third installment in the comedy series, which will probably collect around $16 million.

INDIAN-BORN director Mira Nair missed all the fanfare around the 2003 publication of "The Namesake," Jhumpa Lahiri's critically acclaimed second book examining the cultural struggles between first-generation Bengali immigrants and their American-born children. Nair, whose other credits include "Salaam Bombay" and "Monsoon Wedding," was filming "Vanity Fair" in England during the first part of the year.