- Began using the name Kal Penn, a variation on his first name Kalpen, to get more roles; he believed that his difficult foreign name would scare away potential employers.
- In April 2009, Penn told Entertainment Weekly Magazine that the writers killed off his character on House (2004) because he had asked to be allowed to leave the show to go work for the Barack Obama Administration as the Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Liaison.
- Currently teaches a course at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. The course is entitled "Asian-Americans in the Media". (January 2008)
- His father is an engineer and his mother, who has a master's in chemistry, worked as a fragrance evaluator for a perfume company.
- He and the other students were banned from using the word "like" in his acting classes, this was to make them sound more intelligent during auditions.
- Kal Penn has both worked as a real-life White House staffer (as Associate Director of the Obama administration's White House Office of Public Engagement) and played one on TV (as Seth in the TV series Designated Survivor).
- His favorite book is "The Namesake" and used to check into hotels under the pseudonym of "Gogol Ganguli", the lead character of the book. When found out that Mira Nair was making a film out of it, despite her having already cast an actor in the part, Penn lobbied for the role and eventually won it.
- Is in the process of earning a graduate certificate in international security from Stanford University.
- Accepted a position as the associate director in the White House's Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs [April 7, 2009].
- Raised Over $500,000 for Syrian Refugees.[January 2017].
- Is of Gujarati Indian descent.
- (Late April 2010) Was robbed at gunpoint at 1:20 a.m. in Washington D.C. His wallet and other belongings were stolen.
- Came out as gay in October 2021, and revealed that he is engaged.
- During the Spring 2008 semester, he was an adjunct faculty member in the Asian American Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania (familiarly called "Penn") in Philadelphia. He taught a lecture course, "Images of Asian Americans in the Media," and a seminar, "Contemporary American Teen Films," both of which were cross-listed in the Cinema Studies department. His faculty listing on the Asian American Studies Program website gave his name as Kalpen Modi (his real name) first, with his stage name, Kal Penn, in parentheses.
- Played saxophone in his school's marching band.
- Close friends with Olivia Wilde.
- Kal Penn was invited for an audition for the role of "Gogol Ganguly" in the movie The Namesake (2006), because director Mira Nair's son, Zohan, and her agent's son, Sam, were big fans of Kal Penn's earlier movie - Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004).
- He attended the Fine and Performing Arts Center at Howell High School in Farmingdale, New Jersey where he went though an intense study of the arts in acting, dance/movement, and vocal training.
- Although he attended Howell High School's performing arts program, he later transferred to Freehold Township (NJ) High School, where he graduated in 1995.
- Was offered a part in "Planet Terror," the Robert Rodriguez segment of Grindhouse (2007), but turned it down due to the conflicting shoot of The Namesake (2006).
- When he was in 8th grade he was in a school production of the musical "The Wiz".
- With Rachael Leigh Cook, he appeared at Keene State College; Keene, New Hampshire, on November 3rd to campaign for Barack Obama. (November 2008)
- Attended UCLA.
- He was a member of the Freehold Township High School Forensics Speech & Debate Team. His lucky shirt is the team shirt which depicts the "Fighting Opi".
- The brother of one of Peta 2's senior coordinator Pulin Modi.
- Once directed Jason Allentoff in a short film for a college project.
- Lives in same Los Angeles apartment building as director Christian Victor Levatino.
- Studied acting under the same teacher (Reynold Forman) as Anthony Bradford.
- Met future Where's the Party Yaar? (2003) co-star Datta Dave and Dave's current financial adviser Mihir Upadhyaya during college at UCLA. He assisted Dave in his pursuit of an acting career.
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