Kalpen Suresh Modi, known professionally as
Kal Penn, is an American actor, author, academic lecturer, and former White House staff member in the Barack Obama administration. As an actor, he is known for his role portraying Lawrence Kutner on the television program
House, as well as White House staffer Seth Wright on
Designated Survivor and Kumar Patel in the
Harold & Kumar film series. He is also recognized for his performance in the film
The Namesake. Penn has taught at the University of Pennsylvania in the Cinema Studies Program as a visiting lecturer.