5 things to know about Kal Penn, who just came out as gay in his memoir – the Harold & Kumar actor and former Obama White House staffer is also engaged to his partner of 11 years
- The Indian-American Hollywood actor is most famous for his role in 2004 comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle alongside John Cho
- Penn, who also starred in House, How I Met Your Mother and Designated Survivor, publicly opened up about being LGBT for the first time in his book, You Can’t Be Serious
Recently, the 44-year-old actor and former White House staff member revealed in his new memoir You Can’t Be Serious that he is gay and engaged to his partner of 11 years, Josh (a surname was not revealed).
Here are a few more interesting facts about the actor …
He decided to act after playing the Tin Man in school
After his success as the weed-loving Kumar Patel in bro-comedy Harold & Kumar, the New Jersey-born actor starred in a slew of popular TV shows like House (2007), How I Met Your Mother (2011) and Designated Survivor (2016). He also got rave reviews for his portrayal as Gogol in the film adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel, The Namesake (2006).
But what first inspired him to become an actor? Penn says it was the time he played The Wizard of Oz’s Tin Man in a school play. “I put the axe up and I turned to the audience and I said, ‘All you fine ladies out there …’ and I just did this pelvic thrust, and the crowd went nuts! And I was just, like, that feeling was interesting,” the actor told CBS News in October.