
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

Smile
2022 · as Dr. Morgan Desai

Superman Returns
2006 · as Stanford

Love Don't Co$t a Thing
2003 · as Kenneth Warman

Epic Movie
2007 · as Edward

Son of the Mask
2005 · as Jorge

National Lampoon's Van Wilder
2002 · as Taj Mahal Badalandabad

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
2004 · as Kumar Patel

Deck the Halls
2006 · as Amit Sayid (uncredited)

The Layover
2017 · as Anuj

A Lot Like Love
2005 · as Jeeter

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
2008 · as Kumar Patel

The Underdoggs
2024 · as Ryan Kauffman

Once Upon a Time in Venice
2017 · as Rajeesh

Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj
2006 · as Taj Mahal Badalandabad

Malibu's Most Wanted
2003 · as Hadji

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
2011 · as Kumar Patel

Regarding Ardy
2003 · as Fred

Emily & Tim
2015 · as Tim (Segment 2)