Kal Penn aka Kalpen Suresh Modi has burst onto the Holloywood scene the past few years with starring roles in National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, The Namesake, and most recently Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay. He can also be seen as a regualrly oon TV as Dr. Kutner on Fox’s House.

Despite his success, Kal Penn has seen his share of racism in Hollywood. In his first audition in Los Angeles for a commercial, he was asked “Where’s your turban?” When he explained why he didn’t wear a turban, the casting director told him to “put on a bedsheet or something”. Partly as a joke and partly to test if anglicized names appeal more to a white-dominated Hollywood, he changed his name from Kalpen Modi to Kal Penn on his resume and photos. Suprisingly, callbacks for auditions increased. Although he still prefers Kalpen Modi, he is stuck with his working name Kal Penn in Hollywood.

With his experience in acting and auditioning, Mr. Kalpen Modi (aka Kal Penn) is currently an adjunct professor in the Asian American Studies Department at UPENN teaching ASAM 109/CINE 109/SOCI 109 “IMAGES OF ASIAN-AMERICANS IN MEDIA” for Asian American Studies, Cinema Studies, and Sociology! This course examines contemporary popular images of Asian Americans in the US media, with a specific focus on popular film and television. Guest lecturers that have spoken in Professor Modi’s class include Margaret Cho, executives from New Line Cinema, Daniel Chun (Writer, The Simpsons), and Vali Chandrasekara (Writer, My Name is Earl).

Watch Kal Penn of talk about being an Asian American actor and typecasting:

Watch Kal Penn on House on Monday Nights at 9pm/8pm Central: