Kalpen Suresh Modi (born April 23, 1977) is an American actor, author, comedian, and former White House staff member in the Obama administration. He is best known for his role as Kumar Patel in the Harold & Kumar movie franchise. He is also known for his roles as Lawrence Kutner on the television program House, White House staffer Seth Wright on Designated Survivor, Kevin in How I Met Your Mother and Nikhil Ganguli in the film The Namesake (2006). In early 2009, Penn was offered the position of Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, which he accepted, necessitating his character Lawrence Kutner being written out of the TV series House. In 2020, Penn wrote a memoir called "You Can't Be Serious". While promoting this memoir, Penn announced that he and his boyfriend of 11 years, named Josh, were engaged

Filmography

• 2026Trust Me, I'm a Doctor — Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, Executive Producer
• 2024The Underdoggs — Ryan Kauffman
• Scott Pilgrim Takes Off — Ventakish (voice)
• 2022Smile — Dr. Morgan Desai
• The Santa Clauses — Simon Choksi
• Clarice — Shaan Tripathi
• 2021Hot Mess Holiday — Kal Penn
• 2021Untitled Horror Movie — Mark
• Industry — Jay 'Jonah' Atterbury
• Mira, Royal Detective — Mikku (voice)
• 2020The Girl in the Woods
• Sunnyside — Garrett Modi, Creator
• Fancy Nancy — Mr. Singh (voice)
• 2018The Ashram — Nitin
• 2017Once Upon a Time in Venice — Rajeesh
• 2017Speech & Debate — James
• 2017The Layover — Anuj
• 2016Better Off Single — Brice
• Designated Survivor — Seth Wright
• Battle Creek — Detective Fontanelle
• 2015Emily & Tim — Tim (Segment 2)
• 2015The Girl in the Photographs — Peter Hemmings
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
• 2015The Sisterhood of Night — Gordy Gambhir
• 2014A Prayer for Rain — Motwani
• Deadbeat — Clyde
• 2013Dementamania
• We Are Men — Gil Bartis
• 2011A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas — Kumar Patel
• American Horror Story — Mac Marzara
• 2011Harold & Kumars Yuletide Jamz — Kumar Patel
• New Girl — Tripp
• Top Gear
• 2008Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay — Kumar Patel
• 2008Harold & Kumar Go to Amsterdam — Kumar
• 2007Epic Movie — Edward
• The Big Bang Theory — Kevin Campbell
• 2007The Namesake — Gogol / Nikhil
• 2006Awesometown — Guy Reading Newspaper
• 2006Bachelor Party Vegas — Z-Bob
• 2006Deck the Halls — Amit Sayid (uncredited)
• 2006Man About Town — Alan Fineberg
• 2006Superman Returns — Stanford
• 2006Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj — Taj Mahal Badalandabad, Executive Producer
• 2005A Lot Like Love — Jeeter
• 2005Dancing in Twilight — Sam
• How I Met Your Mother — Kevin Venkataraghavan
• 2005Son of the Mask — Jorge
• 2005Sueno — Raj
• 2004Ball and Chain — Bobby
• 2004Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle — Kumar Patel
• 2004Homeland Security — Harrison
• House — Lawrence Kutner
• All About the Andersons — Doctor George
• 2003Cosmopolitan — Vandana's Fiancee
• 2003Love Don't Co$t a Thing — Kenneth Warman
• 2003Malibu's Most Wanted — Hadji
• 2003Regarding Ardy — Fred
• Tru Calling — Steven
• 2003Where's the Party Yaar? — Mo
• 2002National Lampoon's Van Wilder — Taj Mahal Badalandabad
• 24 — Ahmed Amar
• 2001American Desi — Ajay Pandya
• The Agency — Malek
• Angel — Young Man in Fez
• 1999Freshmen — Ajay
• Independent Lens — Jagdesh, Vandana's Fiancee
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — Henry Chanoor
• 1998Express: Aisle to Glory — Jackie Newton
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer — Hunt
• Sabrina, the Teenage Witch — Prajeeb
• Spin City — Buddy
• ER — Narajan
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
• Sesame Street
• Brookfield — Kumar Zimmerman
• Contra — Dale Stone
• Patel — Executive Producer
• Untitled Harold & Kumar Sequel — Kumar Patel
• What the F*ck Is My Password?!

Appearances as themselves (31)

• Celebrity Weakest Link — Self - Contestant
• 2023Schoolhouse Rock! 50th Anniversary Singalong — Self
• Celebrity Wheel of Fortune — Self - Contestant
• 2021Clarice: Behind the Scenes with Stars and Producers — Self
• Name That Tune — Self - Contestant
• Kal Penn Approves This Message — Self - Host
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire — Self - Contestant
• A Little Late with Lilly Singh — Self
• The Kelly Clarkson Show — Self, Self - Guest Host
• The Tamron Hall Show — Self - Guest
• Superhuman — Self - Host
• 2017The Problem with Apu — Self
• Match Game — Self - Panelist
• The $100,000 Pyramid — Self
• To Tell the Truth — Self - Panelist
• The Big Picture with Kal Penn — Himself - Host
• The Late Late Show with James Corden — Self - Guest
• Late Night with Seth Meyers — Self
• Hollywood Game Night — Self
• The Big Brain Theory — Self - Host
• Finding Your Roots — Self
• Impractical Jokers — Self
• Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen — Self - Guest
• 2009We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial — Self
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson — Self
• The Soup — Self
• Jimmy Kimmel Live! — Self - Guest
• The View — Self - Guest
• The Daily Show — Self - Guest Host
• LIVE with Kelly and Mark — Self - Guest
• CBS News Sunday Morning — Self