BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer
A young actor who is beginning to make a name for himself told students at the Freehold Regional High School District’s Fine and Performing Arts Academy that the things they are learning now can pay off in the future.
Kal Penn, who starred in the 2004 film “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle,” recently returned to Howell High School, where his acting career took root a decade ago.
When asked by students if the performing arts academy will prepare them for the real world of film, Penn said it provides great preparation.
Penn, formerly Kalpen Modi, told the students he went to the UCLA School of Theater after he graduated in 1995.
“Most of what I studied during the first two years at UCLA I already knew from the performing arts center” at Howell, he said.
He stressed the importance of pursuing a college education and said it definitely helps in getting acting jobs.
“So many actors are high school drop-outs with poor speaking skills and no formal training, so it definitely gives you the edge” Penn said.
The actor began to make a name for himself with his appearance in “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder.” He appears in “A Lot Like Love,” a romantic comedy with Amanda Peet and Ashton Kutcher, and he has had roles on the television shows “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,” “ER,” “NYPD Blue” and “Spin City.”
Describing his starring role as Kumar in “White Castle,” Penn said it was exciting to have a lead role that was devoid of stereotypes.
“I feel redeemed for some of the roles I had to take to build my resume,” he said.
He told the students that before enjoying the recent success he has found, rejection at auditions was difficult.
“It’s especially difficult when you’re rejected for things that have nothing to do with your talent,” like being too short, overweight or too ethnic looking, he said.
Penn told the students it was difficult to convince his parents that acting was his passion. As a student in the FRHSD’s International Studies program at Freehold Township High School, he decided to enroll in the performing arts academy at Howell on a shared-time basis during his junior and senior years.
Penn said his parents were not in favor of the acting classes, but they agreed to let him go.
“I think they thought it was a phase and that I would change my mind and decide to be a doctor,” he said.
His parents, who came to the United States from India, wanted an easier, more secure and stable life for their son. He said they worried that acting was an unstable profession and that he would never have a steady income.
Penn said it didn’t help when his guidance counselor and some teachers tried to discourage him from enrolling in the performing arts academy by telling him that he was making a huge mistake and throwing his life away.
“I think they were probably wrong,” he said. “Fortunately, when my parents realized how passionate I was about acting, they came around. They weren’t totally encouraging, but they weren’t discouraging.”
Penn offered a piece of advice to the aspiring young actors: Stay determined and follow your passion. He encouraged them to learn as much as they can while they are students at the performing arts academy, noting that private acting classes are very expensive.