Kumar goes to the White House!
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Who says that making fun of Bush (and chasing after the perfect burger) doesn’t pay off? Slackers, this is true validation of your righteous path!
From the Wall Street Journal:
Actor Kal Penn to Join White House Staff
Susan Davis reports on the White House.
Actor Kal Penn is leaving Hollywood for the White House.
Penn, best known for his roles as Kumar Patel in the “Harold & Kumar” movies and most recently as Dr. Lawrence Kutner on the television series “House” told EW.com that he will be associate director in the White House office of public liaison.
“They do outreach with the American public and with different organizations. They’re basically the front door of the White House,” Penn said. “They take out all of the red tape that falls between the general public and the White House. It’s similar to what I was doing on the campaign.”
The Chicago Sun Times reports that Penn will be working with the Asian-American and arts communities. His start date is unknown. The office is run by senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett.
Penn was among many celebrities backing Barack Obama in his presidential campaign, and he spent a lot of his personal time volunteering for the campaign. The actor acknowledged that he will take a significant pay cut. “There’s not a lot of financial reward in these jobs. But, obviously, the opportunity to serve in a capacity like this is an incredible honor,” he said. (First daughters Malia and Sasha are also reportedly fans.)
In a dramatic exit, “House” executive producers had Penn’s character, Dr. Kutner, commit suicide in Monday night’s episode. “He worked very extensively for the Obama campaign and he’s been teaching at Penn. Kal is a man with broader ambitions than the entertainment industry,” producer David Shore said.
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Dialectic
5:50 pm | Apr 07, 2009“The Chicago Sun Times reports that Penn will be working with the Asian-American and arts communities.”
He, and the Obama administration, are doing what we wanted to do, but actually doing it. Brilliant!
Kids, get into politics, get into business, get into arts. That’s what modern activism is.
nskripchun
10:11 pm | Apr 07, 2009Awesome, and congrats to Kal Penn… he’s living THE DREAM!
nightshade
10:45 am | Apr 08, 2009That is seriously awesome. Heh, like totally.
EvilPanda
7:11 pm | Apr 14, 2009So…proud. :0)
I only wish that he would’ve taken this position AFTER making a sequel to “Dude, Where’s My Car?”…starring Kal Penn, Sean William Scott, and Neil Patrick Harris. LOL