Kalpen Suresh Modi, better known by his screen name Kal Penn (born April 23, 1977 in Montclair, New Jersey) is the actor who portrays Dr. Lawrence Kutner, one of the three new fellows House keeps on at the beginning of Season 4.
Penn has over 40 television and movie credits, but became the best known Indian-American actor in Hollywood after his successful turn in Harold & Kumar go to White Castle in 2004 with his good friend and House guest star John Cho. Harold & Kumar was perhaps the first American film to feature main characters who were neither European or African-American. It made back twice its budget of $9 million. The much anticipated sequel Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay was released in 2008. Ironically, in Harold & Kumar, Penn plays a young man who does not want to become a doctor like his father and brother.
However, Penn has kept busy since his success, with a key role as one of Lex Luthor's henchmen in Superman Returns and as a terrorist in season 6 of 24.