His parents, Karamchand and Niki Choudhary, were shot dead during an armed robbery of their convenience store. Her hobbies include drawing, video games, long walks in the countryside, and wasting far too much time on Twitter. I wouldn't say it's disillusionment, I would say it's understanding the process.". That changed as the candidate's momentum began to snowball. The memorial thing was because so many House watchers are attached to the CHARACTERS that they wanted to give the fans of the show a way to express their feeling. Kal Penn leaves House for the White House - House fans around the world were shocked last night to see Kal Penn's character, Dr. Lawrence Kutner, take his own life on the show. So I'll do three days in Iowa before the caucuses... And then he won! Kutner did not leave a series of tapes detailing the thirteen reasons why he took his own life; he was simply showing up to work like normal in one episode, and gone in the next. And there was an opportunity to serve in the White House, and... you know, what are you gonna say, 'No Mr. President, I have another stoner movie to make?'". Kal Penn Found Success In Movies Like Harold & Kumar. Although House execs David Shore and Katie Jacobs have said they are leaving the door open for Cameron to resurface at some point, Morrison … Kal Penn has opened up about his decision to leave House for the White House, and to subsequently leave his position as associate director in the Office Why did he depart the series? "That if it was easy to flip on a light switch and change everything someone would have done it before, and it's actually a very laborious process, it's very slow. His family originally came from the Gujarat, India and his grandparents were involved with the Indian independence movement. Kal told Entertainment Weekly in October 2007: “Lawrence is a fan of trying random methods of exploration and life saving, and isn’t afraid to break the rules a little bit. Kal Penn Leaves White House: 'Harold & Kumar' Actor Leaves Washington For Hollywood. 1 decade ago. Markle left hit legal drama Suits after seven seasons due to her marriage to Prince Harry, which she has described as a "new chapter" in her life. He also starred in a main role in the political drama Designated Survivor, in which he portrayed Seth Wright, the White House Communications Director. He is played by Kal Penn. Penn is a pretty busy guy, and Hollywood has certainly been good to him, but in his conversation with ABC News, he expressed no regrets about his two-year detour into politics. Yes, Kal Penn has left the show for good. He later adopted their last name… He becomes a member of House 's new diagnostic team in "Games" , the ninth episode of the fourth season. Shore elaborated: "We wanted it to be a character who didn't make sense - or didn't superficially make sense. In June 2010, he took a break from his White House duties to shoot A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, returning to his post when filming was completed (It turned out he did have another stoner movie to make). At the time, it sounded like you were pissed about it. Kalpen Suresh Modi, better known by his screen name Kal Penn (born April 23, 1977 in Montclair, New Jersey) is the actor who portrayed Dr. Lawrence Kutner, one of the three new fellows House keeps on at the beginning of Season 4.His nicknames are "Hollywood" and "K-Kal". The two were friendly on set, and in 2007, Wilde invited Penn to attend an event in support of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama. “House” Actor Killed Off to Work for Obama This TV star is moving on to a different kind of "House." The reason wasn’t any of the usual ones actors abandon top series. Actor Kal Penn revealed that he decided to leave the series of his own accord. Why was Kal Penn written off the show so abruptly? hide. The actor best known as Kumar from the "Harold and Kumar" movies stunned Hollywood last year when he announced he'd leave his role on the hit series "House" -- they had to kill his character off -- to take a job with the Obama … At the time, it sounded like you were pissed about it. Although the new team was made up of pretty severely clashing personalities, things seemed fine until near the end of season 5 when, in the episode "Simple Explanation," Kutner, despite having shown no outward sign that anything was wrong, committed suicide by gunshot to the head. Kal Penn (Kutner), left the show House to work at the White House! He asked to go. Here's why Penn left the show, and how it was handled. She's now a features writer and editor, covering the hottest topics in the world of nerddom from her home base in Oxford, UK. A number of characters were killed off over the course of House MD's eight seasons, but the most abrupt and shocking death of all came when Dr. Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn) committed suicide in season 5, episode 20, "Simple Explanation." The job offer meant that he couldn't continue with his role on House MD, which led to a difficult conversation with the showrunners. Hannah enjoys weird horror movies, weirder sci-fi movies, and also the movie adaptation of Need for Speed - the greatest video game movie of all time. Penn was offered a position as associate director in the White House office of public engagement in early 2009. Kal Penn, the actor who in 2009 left his role on the TV show "House" to work for the Obama administration, has left his job at the White House and will be returning to Hollywood, ABC News reports. No, he wasn't fired. Though Kutner's death was far from the first time that a major character in a TV show has committed suicide, it was unique in that there was never an explanation given for why he did it. Kal Penn left House MD to get another job. Kal Penn did not really die. House was helped by a team of crack assistants that, for the series' first three seasons, consisted of intensivist Dr. Robert Chase (Jesse Spencer), immunologist Dr. Allison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison), and neurologist Dr. Eric Foreman (Omar Epps). Sure, Penn's new gig explains why the actor wanted to leave. "What I love and am passionate about with service," he explained, "is this concept that, yes, we elect officials, but things don't actually get done until we put our boots to the ground and become part of that solution.". Kal Penn is leaving the show "House" to work in the White House (or at least, in the Old Executive Office building next door). I honestly feel that the writers were disappointed how quickly he had to leave for the Obama post they killed him off camera, No note. Kutner had been introduced in season 4 as one of a large pool of applicants whom House (Hugh Laurie) forced to compete for a limited number of consultant positions. "So, I went to this event with her, really actually liked it ... [and] was enamored enough by his campaign. You work with somebody for two years, but do you really know them?'". I said to myself, "My first love will always be film and acting, but there's always a time to have fun and do things like that. Kal Penn went to work for President Barack Obama’s administration. The six-year-old Kutner was a witness to the shooting as he often worked at the store after school. And I was like, 'Not at all. I'm actually saying the exact opposite, which is I'm having an incredible time, but there's something aching in me to do something completely different and take a break from the acting thing for a while.' https://www.thethings.com/why-did-kal-penn-walk-away-from-acting The reason wasn’t any of the usual ones actors abandon top series. Speaking in an interview with NPR, Penn recalled that his co-star Olivia Wilde invited him to a Barack Obama event during the 2007 Democratic primaries. He stepped down on June 1st, 2010 to shoot what I assume will be the Oscar movie to beat this year, A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas. It appeared season 8 of House MD would be the end, due to declining ratings and actor contracts expiring, ... he plans to leave medicine and study dark matter … He's been seen in recurring roles on a ton of series, including How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, and The Big Bang Theory. 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