Daily Archives: September 24, 2008

Kal Penn back for House Season 5

After a very busy year, Kal Penn is back as Dr. Lawrence Kutner in House, now running it its fifth season. He serves on Senator Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign’s National Arts Policy Committee and is a national surrogate for the candidate. Kal also serves on the celebrity advisory board of the Red Cross, and recently finished a semester as Adjunct Professor of Cinema, Sociology, and Asian American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Over the summer, we saw Kal Penn reprise the role of “Kumar” in the recently released comedy “Harold And Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay,” sequel to the 2004 cult classic “Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle.”

Penn received rave reviews for his starring role in the film “The Namesake,” based on the novel by Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri and directed by Academy Award nominee Mira Nair.

Penn has appeared in other recent films including “A Lot Like Love” and “Superman Returns.” He had a recurring role on 24 and recently guest-starred on the hit series, “Law & Order: SVU.” Earlier credits include the Emmy Award- winning HBO comedy “Express: Aisle To Glory,” “Spin City,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “NYPD Blue,” “The Agency” and “Angel.”

Born and raised in New Jersey where he graduated from the Freehold Regional High School District’s Performing Arts High School, Penn received a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology with a Specialization in Theatre, Film and Television from the prestigious School of Theater, Film and Television at UCLA, and is currently pursuing a Graduate Certificate in International Security at Stanford University. Currently, Penn lives in Los Angeles.

Catch House on Fox on Tuesdays.

Watch Kal Penn in the first episode of House Season 5

Tim Kang in The Mentalist on CBS

You may have seen Korean American Tim Kang in Rambo 4 as En-Joo earlier this year or even in commercials for Home Depot, Dairy Queen, and AT&T/Cingular. Tim is originally from San Francisco. His mother is a nurse, while his father was the publisher of the Korea Daily News. He graduated from the UC Berkeley with a BA in Political Science and later received an Master of Fine Arts from the American Repertory Theater Institute at Harvard University. Currently, the 35-year-old actor resides in Los Angeles. Now, Tim Kang plays a supporting role as Kimball Cho in CBS’s The Mentalist. 15.5 Million Viewers in watched the debut of the Mentalist yesterday. Here’s more about The Mentalist.

THE MENTALIST stars Golden Globe Award nominee Simon Baker (“The Devil Wears Prada”) as Patrick Jane, a detective and independent consultant with the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI), who has a remarkable track record for solving serious crimes by using his razor sharp skills of observation. Within the Bureau, Jane is notorious for his blatant lack of protocol and his semi-celebrity past as a psychic medium, whose paranormal abilities he now admits he feigned. Jane’s role in cracking a series of tough high-profile cases is greatly valued by his fellow agents. However, no-nonsense Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney, “Prison Break”) openly resists having Jane in her unit and alternates between reluctantly acknowledging Jane’s usefulness and blasting him for his theatrics, narcissism and dangerous lack of boundaries. Lisbon’s team includes agents Kimball Cho (Tim Kang, “Rambo”), Wayne Rigsby (Owain Yeoman, “The Nine”), and rookie member Grace Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti, “The O.C.”), who all think Jane’s a loose cannon but admire his charm and knack for clearing cases. Bruno Heller (creator of “Rome”) is creator/executive producer, and Emmy Award winner David Nutter (“Band of Brothers”) is the executive producer for Warner Bros. Television.”

A clip from The Mentalist

Learn more about The Mentalist

Tim Kang in the Home Depot Commercial (poor quality)

Tim Kang in the Dairy Queen Pregnant Wife Commercial

Tim Kang in Cingular Commercial

Mr. Hyphen 2008 Contestants

Hyphen and the Oakland Asian Cultural Center presents the 3rd annual Mr. Hyphen, celebrating the men of the Asian American community who devote themselves to worthy community causes. The event has rounds of talent, fashion and Q&A. The man who is crowned Mr. Hyphen wins a $1000 cash donation to his nonprofit organization. Here are this year’s contestants:

Scott Chan
Scott Chan
Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics

Aristotle Garcia
Aristotle Garcia
Filipino-American Arts & Exposition
Mike Liu
Mike Liu
Spring Buds / California Dragon Boat Association
Maurice Seaty
Maurice Seaty
Southeast Asian Student Coalition
Eric Tam
Eric Tam
Asian American Donor Program
Rockson Yan
Rockson Yan
API Legal Outreach Youth Program

Find out who wins on Saturday, October 4 at 7 – 10pm. The event takes place at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center in Oakland Chinatown. Buy tickets here.

This was last year’s Mr. Hyphen contest promo. (it give you a taste of what you can expect)