What do you do when who you want to be and who the world tells you to be are different? In a world of stereotypes and expectations, how do we figure out who we really are? Actor Kal Penn and the Surgeon General go deep on these questions as they compare notes on growing up as children of immigrants and discuss Penn’s experiences with discrimination, bullying, self-doubt, and societal pressure while launching his career. If you have ever wondered how to navigate being different, or wanting something other than what’s expected of you, tune in – Kal Penn has been there!

Kal Penn, Actor & Author

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About Kal Penn

Kal Penn is an actor, writer, producer, and author.

He is known for his starring roles in the “Harold & Kumar” series, “Designated Survivor,” “House,” and the patriotic immigration sit-com “Sunnyside,” which he co-created for NBC.

Kal published his best-selling memoir “You Can’t Be Serious” in 2022. In it, he recounts a series of funny, consequential, awkward, and ridiculous stories from Kal Penn’s idiosyncratic life. His story reaches back to his grandparents who marched with Gandhi and growing up the son of immigrant parents, who came to this country with very little and went very far—and whose vision of the American dream probably never included their son appearing in the Ryan Reynolds movie “Van Wilder”…or getting a phone call from Air Force One as Kal flew with the country’s first Black president.

In addition to acting, Kal has been engaged in the public sector. He served as an Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, where he served as President Obama’s Liaison to Young Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and the Arts community. In these roles, he worked on a range of issues, including the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the Affordable Care Act, Pell Grants, arts and culture programs, the DREAM Act, and rapid response to the BP Oil Spill and earthquake in Haiti. In 2012, he was a national co-chair for the Obama/Biden re-election campaign and served on the President’s Committee for the Arts and Humanities.

Originally from New Jersey, he received his undergraduate degree in sociology, theater, film, and television at the University of California, Los Angeles, and received a graduate certificate in international security from Stanford University. He has been a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations. Penn has taught courses at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Penn most recently wrapped production on the CBS Drama, “Clarice” (based on “Silence of the Lambs”), and Freeform’s late night youth election format show “Kal Penn Approves This Message.” He currently stars in the animated Disney Junior series “Mira,” “Royal Detective,” is an Executive Producer on the Viacom/Paramount + comedy, “Surina & Mel,” and can be heard in Nickelodeon’s “It’s Pony.” His culinary competition series “Money Hungry” aired on Food Network this winter.