Kal Penn has had a great career that’s included starring in one of the most notable stoner comedy franchises, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, for which he will forever be known as one of the greatest movie potheads. As with most actors, the early days of his career saw him auditioning a lot, and he’s now spoken about how he had to audition for his role in Van Wilder against “a white dude in brownface.”

What Kal Penn Said About Auditioning Against Someone In Brownface For Van Wilder

While it’s difficult for most actors to have a long career that also leads to them having both face and name recognition, Kal Penn has certainly achieved that level of success. The Smile cast member, along with being known for the Harold & Kumar franchise (which helped normalize diversity in movies), has had notable roles in everything from hit TV comedies like How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory (much to the appreciation of Kunal Nayyar), and popular dramas such as Designated Survivor and House, all while racking up nearly 100 credits on his resume.

His early career, however, was filled with one-off appearances on shows like Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Boy Meets World, Spin City, Angel, and ER. One role that seems to have changed his trajectory is his part as Taj in 2002’s Ryan Reynolds-starring comedy, Van Wilder. While being interviewed recently for the Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know podcast, Penn was asked about his audition for that film, which he spoke about in his 2021 memoir, You Can’t Be Serious. Minhaj asked him to talk about it, because the experience sounded “like a piece of fiction,” leading Penn to say:

Seeing as how Penn’s heritage is Indian American, and the role of Taj for was someone who shared that background, he understandably assumed that another guy of Indian heritage was also in the running for the part. However, when he got to the final audition, he was met with quite the surprise:

I have to say, he almost definitely handled the shock of seeing a white guy in brownface better than I think I would have. I think it probably says a lot about him that he wasn’t immediately angered, but just trying to figure out how this man had come to the decision to do such a thing and actually carry it out. As he said, “actors are desperate.”

Also, he clearly bears this man no ill will, because not only did he look him up while writing his book, to see if he could talk to him about it, but he also made small talk with him while they were waiting to audition and then “hung out” with him a couple of times after that, and never mentioned the brownface. Penn continued:

As much as he didn’t blame the guy for doing everything possible to get that job, seeing him at the audition galvanized him and likely ended up helping him in his final audition. As he added later, the very reason he got the role of Kumar later was because he’d been in this big studio comedy in a "supporting lead role". The rest, as they say, is history.

On December 8, 2022, Trevor Noah departed The Daily Show after seven years, having been hired to succeed Jon Stewart as its host in 2015. From January 2023 up until the writers strike began in May, the Comedy Central series kept afloat by bringing in various guest hosts, but naturally a permanent successor for Noah eventually needs to be hired. Earlier this week, it was said that Daily Show alum Hasan Minhaj could potentially score the job, and now there’s word that another replacement is in the running.

Actor Kal Penn, whose shown off his comedic chops in the Harold & Kumar film series, among other projects, is now being looked to take over The Daily Show, according to The Wrap. However, this doesn’t mean he has an edge over Minhaj now. An unnamed source allegedly “close to the decision-making process” informed the publication that they are among the “four leading candidates” to become The Daily Show’s new host, though the other two finalists weren’t identified. 

Like Minhaj, Penn was one of The Daily Show’s guest hosts earlier this year, with his tenure lasting from March 13-16, and his first night seeing him interview President Joe Biden. Penn’s there recent credits include starring in The Santa Clauses Season 1 as Simon Choksi, playing Shaan Tripathi in the short-lived CBS series Clarice and appearing as Mac Marzara in American Horror Story: NYC. Additionally, Penn has political experience from when he worked as Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs during the Obama administration.

So with his professional background and that brief round of guest hosting, Kal Penn is certainly qualified enough to become the new face of The Daily Show. However, obviously such a time-intensive position would significantly limit the amount of roles he’d be able to play going forward. So if Penn is indeed approached to succeed Trevor Noah, he’ll need to weigh the pros and cons carefully before reaching a decision.

As for when we’ll learn whether Penn, Hasan Minhaj or someone else becomes The Daily Show’s new permanent host, that’s hard to say. It’d originally been reported that the plan was for the next host to take over sometime in fall 2023, but with the series still on hiatus due to the writers strike, that goal may no longer be feasible. Of course, Comedy Central could still just announce who the successor is in the coming weeks, but we may have to wait longer before we actually see them sitting at the anchor desk. Correspondent Roy Wood Jr. has also reportedly been eyed for the position.

You can rewatch old episodes of The Daily Show with a Paramount+ subscription while waiting to learn who the new host will be. Our 2023 TV schedule is also available to peruse if you’re looking for other forms of small screen entertainment.

In just two days, The Daily Show hits the end of an era, with Trevor Noah departing the satirical news program after hosting for seven years following Jon Stewart’s exit. Needless to say that ever since it was announced that Noah was leaving The Daily Show on December 8, there’s been the question of who will succeed him as the Comedy Central series’ permanent host. As it turns out, we’ll have to wait to a lot longer than expected to learn that answer, because for a good chunk of the next year, SNL vets and a swarm of other talent will be filling in as guest hosts.

Just like the transition period between Craig Ferguson and James Corden on The Late Late Show, or how Jeopardy! brought in numerous fresh faces to fill in following Alex Trebek’s passing, The Daily Show will be moving ahead with guest hosts to fill in for Trevor Noah in 2023, starting with Leslie Jones, who was a Saturday Night Live cast member from 2014 to 2019, on January 17. Here’s the full list of the announced participating talent (in no particular order other than Jones being first):

• Leslie Jones
• Al Franken
• Sarah Silverman
• Chelsea Handler
• Wanda Sykes
• D.L. Hughley
• John Leguizamo
• Kal Penn
• Marlon Wayans
• Hasan Minhaj

Additionally, current Daily Show correspondents and contributors are set to be guest anchors on The Daily Show, with Roy Wood Jr. and Dulcé Sloan being specifically mentioned as in the mix (let’s also not forget that Hasan Minhaj is a former Daily Show correspondent). Executive producer and showrunner Jen Flanz told Vulture that while many, if not most, of these guest hosts will fill in for a week at a time, some may only appear for one night because of their busy schedules/previous commitments. 

Chris McCarthy, president of Comedy Central and CEO of Paramount Media Networks, added that this guest host rotation will unfold between the beginning of 2023 to around June and allow the show “to really experiment and try different things,” meaning that more talent will be announced in the coming weeks. Then The Daily Show will “relaunch in the fall,” i.e. the permanent host will take over in September 2023 and have “a full year to settle in before the 2024 presidential election.”

This isn’t the first time that The Daily Show has had guest host, with one of the more notable examples being when John Oliver sat behind the desk for a few weeks when Jon Stewart took time off to direct Rosewater. That said, Jen Flanz noted that as far as she can remember, “This is the first time we’re really having outsiders into our house.” Flanz also noted that anyone who’s coming in to guest host The Daily Show shouldn’t be seen as candidates to be the permanent host. This is simply an opportunity for various celebrities to pop in and try out hosting The Daily Show for a spell rather than make a full commitment to the gig.

In October, a few weeks after Trevor Noah revealed he was leaving The Daily Show (which apparently ruffled some feathers behind the scenes), the exiting host said he was excited to travel around the world again to do stand-up comedy, as well as do more producing work and spend more time “back home” in South Africa. By November, it was announced that Trevor will begin his Off the Record tour on January 20, which will see him visiting 28 cities in the United States, and international dates will be unveiled later. 

As far as picking a new permanent host for The Daily Show goes, Roy Wood Jr. has been rumored to be in contention for the job, and Chris McCarthy mentioned that these coming months will be a great time for them to “test out those ideas” on evolving the show. Speaking of the Daily Show format, McCarthy and Jen Flanz also said they’re exploring the possibility of transiting the series from the single-anchor format to having co-anchors or multiple co-hosts, i.e. along the lines of SNL’s “Weekend Update” or Good Morning America, but nothing has been decided yet.

For now, you have three more nights to enjoy Trevor Noah behind the desk at The Daily Show. After December 8, the series won’t return until Leslie Jones kicks off the guest hosting run in mid-January. Look through our 2023 TV schedule to learn what other programming there is to look forward to in the new year.

With the Halloween season upon us, there are plenty of promising upcoming horror movies to keep audiences busy and terrified for the next month or so. One of the most anticipated titles on that list is Parker Finn’s supernatural psychological horror flick Smile, which centers on a doctor whose life is turned upside down after witnessing a traumatic experience involving one of her patients. 

Now that the movie is playing in theaters across the country, audiences are finally getting a shot at watching the “super twisted jaw-clincher” of a 2022 movie, leaving them with plenty of questions about the story, ending, and the actors who appear throughout its runtime. There are stories to help out with some of those other burning questions, but today we can tackle those surrounding the Smile cast and where you’ve seen them before. Let’s take a look now, starting with the film’s lead.

Sosie Bacon (Dr. Rose Cotter)

At the center of Smile’s twisted narrative, and its cast, is Sosie Bacon, whose portrayal of Dr. Rose Cotter received heaps of praise from Stephen King, which the horror legend called “what a hell of a performance.”

The daughter of Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, Bacon is no stranger when it comes to the world of horror, as she played the character Rachel Murray on the first two seasons of the Scream MTV series. Outside of the realm of grim and gore, she has appeared on shows like 13 Reasons Why, Here and Now, Narcos: Mexico, Mare of Easttown, and, most recently, As We See It. Prior to leading the Smile cast, she appeared in several movies, including The Last Summer, Charlie Says, and Ana Maria in Novela Land, to name only a few.

Jessie T. Usher (Trevor)

Jessie T. Usher shows up in the cast as Rose’s fiancé, Trevor, who thinks his bride-to-be’s problems are more psychological than supernatural.

Usher, who idolized Will Smith before playing his step-son in Independence Day: Resurrection, is probably best remembered for his portrayal of Reggie Franklin, a.k.a. A-Train, on the hilarious and brutal comic book series, The Boys. Prior to playing the super-fast and reckless character on one of the best shows on Amazon, he had roles on shows like Survivor’s Remorse, Level Up, and Criminal Minds throughout his career. His film credits include Dangerous Lies, The Banker, and Shaft, in which he played the youngest of the three titular characters featured in the 2019 movie.

Kyle Gallner (Joel)

Joel, Rose’s ex and the only person who seems to believe her, is played by Kyle Gallner, who brings with him more than two decades of experience in movies and TV.

The actor, who bookends his 2022 with Scream and Smile, has also appeared in movies like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Beautiful Creatures, American Sniper, The Finest Hours, Dinner in America, and Roost throughout his career. On top of that, he has popped up on shows like Veronica Mars, Big Love, Outsiders, and Interrogation. Gallner was also slated to portray a Wayne Gretzky-like character in Kevin Smith’s unrealized Hit Somebody, which went from being a movie to a miniseries before fading away entirely.

Robin Weigert (Dr. Madeline Northcott)

Taking on the role of Dr. Madeline Northcott in the Smile cast is Robin Weigert, who shows up as Rose’s therapist (including a terrifying transformation as seen in the movie’s trailer on YouTube).

Over the years, Weigert has appeared in multiple feature films like Things We Lost in the Fire, Concussion, Bombshell, and the mind-bending Synecdoche, New York. Her work on the small screen is even more impressive, with memorable roles like Calamity Jane in the Deadwood cast, both the series and the 2019 movie continuation of the classic HBO program. Her other TV credits include Sons of Anarchy, Big Little Lies, Castle Rock, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, and various seasons of American Horror Story.

Caitlin Stasey (Laura Weaver)

Caitlin Stasey originally played the Laura Weaver character in Laura Hasn’t Slept, Parker Finn’s short that the filmmaker later turned into this movie, which sees the actress play Rose’s patient who commits suicide to start the doctor’s dark journey.

Throughout her career, Stasey has popped up in movies that range from romantic comedies like Summer Days, Summer Nights to horror comedies like Fear, Inc. and All Cheerleaders Must Die. She has also appeared in movies like I, Frankenstein, Chu and Blossom, Lust for Love, Evidence, and Tomorrow, When the War Began. In that same stretch of time, she made appearances on a number of TV shows, including The Sleepover Club, Neighbours, Please Like Me, Reign, APB, For the People, and Fantasy Island.

Kal Penn (Dr. Morgan Desai)

Taking on the role of Dr. Morgan Desai, Rose’s boss, is one-half of the Harold and Kumar comedy duo and former White House aide, Kal Penn.

In addition to playing one of the leads in one of the most culturally significant comedies of the early 2000s with Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Penn has built a career on appearing in the movie’s various sequels, as well as in titles like Van Wilder, Malibu’s Most Wanted, Man About Town, and multiple others. Penn has found an equal amount of success on the small screen as well, landing prominent roles on shows like House, Designated Survivor, Sunnyside, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, and 24, to name only a few. He is next set to appear in The Santa Clauses cast, the Disney+ continuation based on the Tim Allen Christmas movie franchise that started in 1994 with The Santa Clause.

Rob Morgan (Roscoe Talley)

Rounding out the cast is Rob Morgan, who portrays the Roscoe Talley, a prison inmate who has experience with the supernatural phenomenon afflicting Dr. Rose Cotter.

Throughout his career, Morgan has appeared in a number of notable movies including Mudbound, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, and Don’t Look Up. His TV work is just as impressive, with memorable roles on Stranger Things, This Is Us, The Knick, and the various Netflix Marvel shows, starting with Daredevil in 2015. Morgan is next set to appear in Lee Daniels’ upcoming The Deliverance.

This should help you remember where you’ve seen the Smile cast before. The new supernatural thriller is already a hit with critics, but time will tell if it becomes one of the best horror movies of all time. 

The Santa Clause movies hold such a special place in the hearts of many who grew up in the ‘90s and early 2000s, with Tim Allen’s Scott Calvin/Father Christmas standing as one of the funniest portrayals of the character to ever hit the big screen. It’s been over 15 years since Allen last struggled with the legalities of being Kris Kringle, so news that the franchise would live on as the Disney+ series The Santa Clauses was an early Christmas present for me and surely many other fans.

Tim Allen was announced to be reprising the leading role, which I can’t imagine with anyone else filling in, and the past few months have seen a growing list of names — old and new, naughty and nice — being added to the project, which will be available with a Disney+ subscription at a date that is yet to be determined. Let’s take a look at an updated cast list for The Santa Clauses.  

Tim Allen (Scott Calvin/Santa)

After wrapping his sitcom Last Man Standing after nine seasons in May 2021, Tim Allen signed on to return as Old St. Nick, apparently with the emphasis on the “Old” in this episodic tale. The official synopsis for the series says that with Scott Calvin approaching his 65th birthday, he sets out to find the person who will replace him as Santa Claus, while also preparing his family for a life away from the North Pole after so many years. 

As well as starring in the first three movies (in 1994, 2002 and 2006) and the above-mentioned sitcom, Tim Allen is likely best known as the voice of Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story franchise — though not in Lightyear — and Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor from Home Improvement. He’s also starred in comedies including Galaxy Quest, Wild Hogs and more. 

Elizabeth Mitchell (Carol Calvin-Claus)

As weird as returning to The Santa Clause universe would be without Tim Allen, the same could be said for a series without Mrs. Claus herself, Elizabeth Mitchell. The actress joined the franchise in the second movie as the principal of Scott’s son Charlie’s school. Charlie’s dad and principal fell in love — every kid’s dream, I’m sure — and Carol Calvin returned for the third movie.

Elizabeth Mitchell has starred in a number of movies and theatre performances, but she is most known for her TV work, primarily for playing Juliet Burke on Lost. She was most recently among the cast of Netflix’s First Kill, whose cancellation after one season drew the ire of its boss and passionate fanbase. She has recurred as Carla Limbrey on Outer Banks and starred in the ABC science fiction series V and NBC’s Revolution, among others.  

David Krumholtz (Bernard the Elf) 

This is an exciting one for fans. David Krumholtz was a scene-stealer as Bernard the Elf in the first two movies but was surprisingly missing from the third film. The actor later revealed that while Bernard was supposed to be in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, he chose not to take part because “the character got devalued a little bit and I couldn’t in good conscience do it.” Presumably all creative differences are in the past, because Bernard will reclaim his rightful place in Santa’s Workshop when The Santa Clauses hits Disney+.

David Krumholtz has a lengthy resume with appearances in movies including Addams Family Values, 10 Things I Hate About You, the Harold & Kumar movies and many others, and he starred as Charlie Eppes in CBS’ crime drama Numb3rs from 2005 to 2010. Next year he will appear in Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated Oppenheimer, which boasts a large cast of A-listers.  

Kal Penn (Simon Choksi) 

Speaking of Harold & Kumar actors, Kumar himself is joining The Santa Clauses in a leading role, Deadline reports. Kal Penn will play Simon Choksi, a devoted single father described as “the next Jeff Bezos.” The game inventor and product developer has high hopes that he hasn’t quite been able to realize — at least until a fateful visit to the North Pole.

Kal Penn’s TV work includes main roles in CBS’ Clarice, NBC’s Sunnyside, ABC’s Designated Survivor and Fox’s House, which he left in 2009 to serve in President Barack Obama’s administration. He most recently headed up the unscripted Freeform series Kal Penn Approves This Message, and is set to appear in the upcoming psychological horror Smile.  

Matilda Lawler (Betty) 

Matilda Lawler joined The Santa Clauses as a series regular, Deadline reports, playing Betty, an elf who is Santa’s Chief of Staff. Betty is described as “the smartest elf in the room" who has to balance Santa's foils and fumbles while also keeping the reindeer ready and able to fly out and get the job done. While she may not be the funniest Elf in the North Pole, she's certainly dependable.  

Best known as Flora from Flora & Ulysses and Young Kirsten in Station Eleven, Matilda Lawler got her start in the theater, making her Broadway debut at age 10 in The Ferryman. 

Laura San Giacomo (La Befana the Christmas Witch) 

NCIS veteran Laura San Giacomo was cast in The Santa Clauses as Le Befana the Christmas Witch. The character is from Italian folklore, and is similar to Santa Claus in that she brings gifts to good children on the morning of the epiphany. While it’s unknown how the Wobbly Woods resident will play into Santa’s operation, it should be quite fun to see how these two cultural icons come together. 

Laura San Giacomo is also known from her role as Cynthia Patrice Bishop in Sex, Lies, and Videotape. Her TV credits include roles in Barry, Just Shoot Me, As We See It, and Animal Kingdom.  

Austin Kane (Cal) 

Scott and Carol’s son will be played by Austin Kane. While Deadline reports the son’s name is Cal, he was introduced as Buddy in The Santa Clause 3, so it’s possible “Cal” is a nickname inspired by his last name. The character reportedly “lacks drive and focus,” and is apparently ready for life south of the North Pole. You know, where people have new names sometimes.

Austin Kane played a toddler on Two and a Half Men and has also made guest appearances in series including Lethal Weapon, Sam & Cat, Criminal Minds and The Goldbergs. 

Elizabeth Allen-Dick (Sandra) 

Tim Allen’s real-life daughter joins the cast as Sandra, the youngest child of Scott and Carol. Deadline reports a “lengthy audition process” was held before Allen-Dick was awarded the role to make her acting debut alongside her dad. The character is reportedly “a bit rough and tumble,” and forms a strong connection with animals, due mostly to the lack of other children her age at the North Pole.

Devin Bright (Noel) 

Joining Betty and Bernard in Santa’s Workshop will be Noel, Santa’s right-hand elf, played by Devin Bright. The character sees himself as St. Nick’s best friend, Deadline reports, and is full of energy and optimism. The young actor has a few credits to his name, most notably Noah from Walton Goggins’ CBS dramedy The Unicorn. 

 Rupali Redd (Grace) 

Rounding out the cast is newcomer Rupali Redd, who will play Grace, the daughter of Simon Choksi (Kal Penn). Deadline reports that Grace is sweet, kind, angelic and all the other good adjectives. Her love for Christmas could reportedly melt the heart of the biggest grinch. No coal in this one’s stocking.

A notable character  missing from this list is Scott Calvin’s oldest son Charlie, who was played in the movies by Eric Lloyd. Yahoo reports that Lloyd, now 36, is mostly retired from acting, but we can still hold out hope, can’t we? It’s exciting to see the new faces that will be joining our old favorites when we jump back into Scott Calvin’s world. 

While we wait on a release date, check out some of the other shows on Disney+, as well as some of the best movies about Santa Claus and how to watch them. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer launched the careers of several actors including Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz, but did you know they’ve had their fair share of up-and-comer guest stars who have all blown up into huge stars? Wonder Woman 1984's Pedro Pascal and Amy Adams are superstars now, but let’s look back at their humble beginnings along with some other familiar faces.

Pedro Pascal

Pedro Pascal had a one-episode appearance as Eddie in the Season 4 opener, “The Freshman”. A fellow freshman at UC Sunnydale, he and Buffy bonded over looking for her dorm, and they promised to hang out and help each other out through the school year. Poor Eddie is immediately attacked by a vampire after Buffy leaves. He later pops back up as a vampire Buffy has to dust. Pascal first picked up some traction with Game of Thrones and Narcos, but has since gone supernova, playing the titular character in The Mandalorian and starring as the villainous Max Lord in Wonder Woman 1984. If that wasn’t white hot enough for you, he’ll next be seen playing Joel in the hotly anticipated adaptation of the video game, The Last Of Us for HBO.

Amy Adams

Amy Adams popped up in the Season 5 episode, “Family” as Tara’s nasty cousin, Beth. Turns out Tara has demon heritage and all women in her family eventually turn evil. Her family shows up to take her home, except, surprise! This was actually bullshit and Tara is human and it was made up to keep the women in line. Beth wins extra terrible points for calling Tara a “selfish bitch." Amy Adams has since become one of Hollywood’s A-list, including being nominated for six Oscars. Her big screen breakthrough was in the 2007 Disney hit, Enchanted. Since then she’s been in tons of notable movies including American Hustle, playing Lois Lane in the Zack Snyder-verse and starring and producing the HBO miniseries Sharp Objects, based on the Gillian Flynn novel.

Wentworth Miller

Playing Gabe Petronzi in the Season 2 episode, “Go Fish”, Miller played a Sunnydale High School swim team jock-turned Creature from the Black Lagoon. Turns out monsters have been killing swim team members and Buffy thinks he’s next so she plays bodyguard. In reality, the swim team coach has been giving the members chemicals and they’re not actually dying, they’re turning into lizard/fish/monster-people, which Miller's Gabe ends up turning into as well. Wentworth Miller went on to star as the main character in Fox’s Prison Break. More recently, he’s portrayed fan-favorite villain Captain Cold on CW’s The Flash and its spinoff, Legends of Tomorrow. He also came out in 2013, and in November 2020 he put the kibosh on a sixth season of Prison Break stating he doesn't want to play straight characters.

Kal Penn

There’s not a lot to say about Kal Penn’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer appearance, except that it was in a really, really bad episode. Penn played Hunt, a UC Sunnydale student in the universally panned Season 4 episode, “Beer Bad.” Buffy picks up some drinking buddies to drown her sorrows over being jilted by Parker in the previous episode. But since this is Buffy, it turns out a frustrated bartender added a special potion to the beer that turns the students into cavemen. Bonus points because Kal Penn also showed up on Angel as a completely different character! Kal Penn’s most famous role is as Kumar in the Harold and Kumar series. He also had a recurring role on House, but he had to leave it because he took up a job in the Obama administration in 2010 as Director of Public Engagement.

Clea Duvall

Clea Duvall popped up early in a Season 1 episode ("Out of Sight, Out of Mind") of Buffy, playing Marcie Ross. Marcie was so unpopular, even super-losers like Willow and Xander didn’t notice her. Being that they live on a Hellmouth Marcie feeling invisible to everyone LITERALLY TURNED HER INVISIBLE. Cordelia and other popular girls start being victims of her stealthy attacks. After they stop Marcie, we get a weird, X-Files-esque ending in which some G-Men come and take her to a school that will help her. Except they take her to a secret assassination school for invisible kids, the end. Clea Duvall had a string of late '90s hits including The Faculty. She’s also had a steady TV career, most recently as the girlfriend to the first daughter and secret service agent to Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Veep. Most recently, she wrote and directed the holiday rom-com Happiest Season on Hulu, starring Kristen Stewart.

Michael Cudlitz

"The Zeppo" is a great Season 3 episode where Xander feels undervalued and starts hanging out with some trouble-making teens. Turns out they’re trying to raise Bob (Michael Cudlitz) -- a former meathead from Sunnydale -- from the dead and then intend to blow up the school. What’s fun about this episode is Xander’s goofy side plot with Bob is front and center while the dramatic world-ending plot takes a back seat. Michael Cudlitz has had a long Hollywood career in supporting roles including the John Wells TNT cop drama Southland. However, undoubtedly his biggest role was playing Abraham on the AMC zombie hit, The Walking Dead. Most recently he starred in the 2018 show The Kids Are Alright which was cancelled after one season.

Amber Tamblyn

The Joan of Arcadia star played Janice, Dawn’s friend, in the Season 6 episode, “All The Way," when Dawn and her friends participate in Halloween hijinks. You see in Buffyverse Halloween is supposed to be the safest night of the year as demons take the night off. However, the boys Dawn and Janice are with didn’t get the message and are actually vampires who are plotting to kill them. Known for daytime soap General Hospital before her breakout role in 2003’s Joan of Arcadia, Amber Tamblyn is also known for her role in the ensemble coming-of-age drama The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants. She can next be seen in the FX adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan’s Y: The Last Man.

Rachel Bilson

Rachel Bilson, much like Kal Penn, had a very small part, playing Colleen, a potential Slayer in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. By this point in the season, the Scoobies are bursting at the seams with potential slayers, with everyone housing them in their various abodes. Xander has a dirty dream about two of the Slayers having a pillow fight. One is played by Rachel Bilson. That’s it. That’s her whole appearance. I guess it’s reasonable to assume she’s there off-camera helping out in the final battle at the Hellmouth? Don’t shed too many tears, though, as she would breakout on the 2000’s mega-hit The O.C. the very same year. Bilson filled her post-O.C. years with guest roles in television before landing her leading role on the popular CW show, Heart of Dixie. More recently, she starred in Take Two on ABC, which was cancelled after a season.

John Ritter

This is a bit of a cheat as this was more stunt casting than casting a future star. Buffy’s mom starts dating Ted (John Ritter) in this Season 2 episode. He seems like a perfect boyfriend, but Buffy doesn’t quite warm to him. Ted reads her diary and learns about her slaying, to which Buffy gets upset. He slaps her, and then she unleashes a can of slayer whoop-ass on him, accidentally killing him. Buffy feels bad about this the next day, but don’t worry, he shows up alive in her bedroom the next night! Is he a demon? No, he’s a robot. Look, early Buffy episodes had some weird plots. John Ritter passed away in 2003 from aortic disease. He’ll best be known for the '70s sitcom Three’s Company. He also had a string of movie hits in the '90s, including Problem Child. He fell ill while rehearsing for his ABC sitcom, 8 Simple Rules and after a brief attempt at heart surgery, he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Conchata Ferrell

Conchata Ferrell played Ruthie the school nurse in the Season 2 episode, “Go Fish." She helped the swim coach use the abandoned Soviet Union drugs to help make the swimmers faster. When she tried to shut down the experimentation, the coach threw her into the pit of mutant high school athlete lizard dudes and they ate her. Ferrell passed away in 2020 from complications from a heart attack, but had a long career in Hollywood. A working actress, she’s best remembered for playing Berta, the sharp and sassy housekeeper in over 200 episodes of the Chuck Lorre hit, Two and A Half Men.

Danny Strong

This one is also kind of a cheat, Jonathan is a fan favorite character who recurred in the early seasons of Buffy as a dorky, lovable high school classmate, and eventually made it to “big bad” status in Season 6 as part of “The Trio." Jonathan, Warren and Andrew teamed up to mostly annoy Buffy but thanks to Warren accidentally killing Tara with a stray bullet, eventually graduated to full-on supervillains. After a bit of redemption, things take a grim turn for Jonathan when a demon-influenced Andrew sacrifices him for his blood so they can open up the Hellmouth, RIP Jonathan.

The real reason to include Danny Strong on the list is he’s had a pretty successful career as a writer and producer, post-Buffy. He won writing Emmys for both Recount and Game Change for HBO, he wrote the last two movies in the Hunger Games franchise and co-created and executive produced Fox’s breakout hit, Empire. He’s also kept busy on the acting front, most recently appearing as the Secretary of Treasury in the Showtime Wall Street drama, Billions.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been a veritable who’s who for guest actors. These are only ten but there’s also been Whedonverse alums like Nathan Fillion, currently seen protecting and serving on ABC’s The Rookie, and Felicia Day, who’s an all around geek queen, including a recurring role as a demon hunter on the recently wrapped up CW hit, Supernatural. Which actor were you more surprised to learn was in Buffy? Let us know below!

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It appears that the lambs have not stopped screaming for FBI agent Clarice Starling, who will now be played by Rebecca Breeds in an upcoming series that continues her story. Joining her in the Clarice cast are the likes of Kal Penn as a fellow agent, Michael Cudlitz as a district attorney already well known to the of the “Hannibal” universe, and many more.

Audiences were first introduced to Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs - the sequel to Thomas Harris’ novel Red Dragon - which was made into an acclaimed 1991 thriller. Director Jonathan Demme’s film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Sir Anthony Hopkins as the chilling, but charming, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, and Best Actress for Jodie Foster as the ambitious FBI rookie. Now, in the tradition of Bryan Fuller’s striking prequel series Hannibal, this new CBS original focuses on Starling’s journey following the case that acquainted her with the iconic, cannibal psychiatrist.

In the event that the series’ lead actress, or anyone else in the cast, looks familiar to you, but you cannot seem to put your finger on why, allow us to help. The is our way of shedding light on the past careers of the biggest stars and most fascinating characters from Clarice, starting with the central heroine.

Rebecca Breeds (Clarice Starling)

Like many other performers from Down Under, Rebecca Breeds on popular Australian soap operas Blue Water High and Home and Away getting noticed by American audiences for recurring roles on the Vampire Diaries spin-off The Originals and Pretty Little Liars on Freeform (when it was still called ABC Family, initially). The 33-year-old actress, who also wrote and stars in a short comedy film called Air that is now in post-production, is leading an American TV series for the first time in the title role of Clarice.

Simon Northwood (Buffalo Bill)

Since you could, technically, call Hannibal Lecter an ally to Clarice Starling, that would undoubtedly mean her enemy is Jame Gumb - nicknamed “Buffalo Bill” for transgender suit he aspires to make from his female victims’ skin - now played by Simon Northwood on Clarice. Thanks to his imposing frame, the 52-year-old Englishman is no stranger to playing bad guys, such as Jay Baruchel’s 2020 thriller Random Acts of Violence, but also some good guys, like on Star Trek: Discovery. other than working as an animator on several Disney films and even Space Jam, he his has kept the most busy in Hollywood performing stunts for films like 300, shows like The Handmaid’s Tale, and even the Hannibal prequel series.

Marnee Carpenter (Catherine Martin)

We experience Buffalo Bill’s treacherous ways in The Silence of the Lambs through the eyes of Catherine Martin, who also appears on Clarice in what is unquestionably the biggest role to date for Marnee Carpenter. However, the young actress has scored bit parts on popular series like Good Girls and fellow CBS crime drama Criminal Minds and ever worked on the set of the Paramount Network hit Yellowstone as a dog handler.

Jayne Atkinson (Ruth Martin)

Catherine Martin’s US senator mother, Ruth, is also coming back in Clarice as played by Jayne Atkinson, who knows a few things about political intrigue from her roles as a homeland security head on 24, Secretary of State on Netflix’s House of Cards, and on Madam Secretary as the Vice President of the United States. The British actress also had a recurring role on Criminal Minds and is best known on the big screen from the first two Free Willy movies and M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village as William Hurt’s spouse.

Shawn Doyle (Clarice’s Therapist)

After all Clarice Starling has already been through before even becoming an official FBI agent, I totally support her decision to see a therapist, portrayed by Shawn Doyle on the series - which might be the actor’s biggest role without a given name to date. The 52-year-old Canadian has been in the business a while, previously appearing alongside a few of his Clarice co-stars on Criminal Minds and House of Cards, as well as a recurring spot on The Expanse, playing Bill Priestap in the The Comey Rule miniseries, and, perhaps most famously, the bad guy in Frequency - an underrated sci-fi thriller from 1999.

Caitlin Stryker (Rebecca)

Another native Canadian Clarice star is Caitlin Stryker, or Caitlin Cromwell as she went by before her marriage to actor and filmmaker Bradley Stryker of Altered Carbon fame. Her most notable credits during and since that early period include multiple CW dramas (The Flash, Supernatural, iZombie), an episode of the the recent The Twilight Zone reboot, and she also has her husband’s movie Sheltering Season and TV series inspired by George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead on the horizon.

Kal Penn (Emin Grigoryan)

Clarice actually marks a reunion for Rebecca Breeds and Kal Penn, who previously starred in the short-lived CBS sitcom We Are Men together. The crime drama also marks the second time the 43-year-old actor has played a character with a badge among more famously playing doctors (like on House), stoners (particularly in the Harold & Kumar franchise), or White House employees (on CBS’ Designated Survivor and in real life, too).

Michael Cudlitz (Paul Krendler) 

Clarice marks only the latest of many, many times Michael Cudlitz has played someone who works in criminal justice, from an uncredited appearance as a state trooper in the original Walker, Texas Ranger to his starring role on TNT’s Southland as Officer John Cooper. However, some audiences may find it easier to recognize the 56-year-old New Yorker in a military uniform, which he wore as Abraham Ford on The Walking Dead, in HBO’s Emmy-winning World War II miniseries Band of Brothers, and the Call of Duty video game franchise as multiple characters.

Raoul Bhaneja (TBA)

Variety has been a blessing on the career of British-born Raoul Bhaneja, whose more recent and most notable roles include recurring spots on NBC’s Blindspot and the live action TV adaptation of DC Comics’ Titans series, as well as Possessor - a disturbing horror thriller from David Cronenberg’s son, David. There is know word, however, on who the British-born is playing on Clarice, which makes one wonder - could he be the new Hannibal Lecter?

Reports have already claimed that the cunning cannibal is not part of this new series, but how many times have producers and studio execs tried to pull that sort of surprise on fans? We will be sure to report the truth about Raoul Banejha’s role on Clarice and other fascinating revelations as they are come up on the show here on CinemaBlend.

Considering how long medical dramas like ER tend to last, how often cast members rotate, and how frequently it require new actors to play the patient(s) of the week, the cast list is unsurprisingly, but still impressively, large. The aforementioned NBC series lasted 15 seasons (from 1994-2009) and made A-listers out of George Clooney, Don Cheadle, and Julianna Margulies to name just a few, but did you know Chadwick Boseman was a guest star before he became a household name?

The late, Marvel movie alum is far from the only beloved celebrity to make an early appearance on ER. In fact, we found an overwhelming amount of notable names to choose from, but settled on a still sizable 20 to include below, starting with one of the busiest and most respected actresses of her generation.

Jessica Chastain (Dahlia Taslitz)

In her acting debut, two-time Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain played a 19-year-old who appears to have done a faulty job taking care of her brain damaged father on ER’s tenth season. Coincidentally, the It: Chapter Two star will soon appear in The Good Nurse - the true crime story of an MD (Eddie Redmayne) whose “faulty” performance causes hundreds of patient deaths.

Chadwick Boseman (Derek Taylor)

In the final season of ER, a then-31-year-old Chadwick Boseman appeared as a boxer alongside screen legend (and future The Mandalorian star) Carl Weathers as his father. After playing the lead of Black Panther just a decade later, the actor would become a screen legend himself and will be remembered as such long after his untimely death in August 2020, following a private cancer battle, at the age of 43.

J.K. Simmons (Gus Loomer)

Speaking of legendary Marvel movie performances, Palms Springs star J.K. Simmons reprised J. Jonah Jameson for the MCU in Spider-Man: Far From Home in 2019. Back in 2004, on ER, the future Oscar winner played a man more concerned with the state of his Hummer than his own health after suffering a crash that he survived, but two others did not.

Danny Pudi (Mahir Kardatay)

Community’s Abed Nadir actor Danny Pudi had a more low-key Marvel movie appearance as a S.H.I.E.L.D. communications technician in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. His second acting gig was a prominent guest role on Season 12 of ER as a man who gets in a violent brawl with his sister’s boyfriend while she is treated at County General for stab wounds in the neck.

Chris Pine (Levine)

Danny Pudi would later appear in 2016’s Star Trek Beyond opposite Chris Pine, playing Capt. James T. Kirk a third time before starring in two Wonder Woman movies as Steve Trevor. This impressive career all started with an appearance on Season 9 of ER lasting mere seconds as a patient still drunk from a Valentine’s Day party… from five days earlier.

Anton Yelchin (Robbie Edelstein)

Chris Pine’s Star Trek co-star Anton Yelchin also made his debut on ER as a 10-year-old survivor of a car crash that killed his parents. Sadly, the talented actor passed away in 2016, at the age of 27, when his own Jeep rolled backward, struck him, and pinned him against the his home’s security fence.

Dakota Fanning (Delia Chadsey)

Another one of Anton Yelchin’s earlier roles was in the Steven Spielberg-produced sci-fi miniseries Taken opposite an 8-year-old Dakota Fanning. The now 26-year-old Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood actress also made her debut on ER as a 6-year-old recovering leukemia patient whose need for further chemo treatment is discovered after suffering a car accident.

Kathy Griffin (Dolores Minky)

Speaking of Quentin Tarantino movies, he actually directed a Season 1 episode of ER starring Kathy Griffin, who had previously worked with the director on Pulp Fiction. The comedian and former Bravo reality show star plays the troop leader for eight young Ranger Scouts who are all sent to County General with diarrhea.

Shia LaBeouf (Darnel Smith)

After ER, Kathy Griffin would a land a starring role on the sitcom Suddenly Susan, on which a young Shia LaBeouf once guest starred on. The former Disney Channel and Transformers star, who later made a name for himself with bizarre performance art (among other things), also appeared on the medical drama's sixth season as a patient with muscular dystrophy.

Josh Gad (Sgt. Bruce Larabee)

Also famous for his work with Disney, following his Tony-nominated performance in The Book of Mormon, is Josh Gad - the voice of Olaf in the Frozen movies. His first gig as part of the Screen Actors Guild was a 2005 episode ER as a combat medic stationed in Iraq with Michael Gallant (Sharif Atkins).

Katee Sackhoff (Jason’s Girlfriend)

Josh Gad also lent his his voice to the animated Star Wars: Rebels series, which also stars Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze - whom she recently brought to live action on The Mandalorian. Before Battlestar Galactica sparked her career as sci-fi royalty, she starred on a Halloween episode of ER from 2002 which, coincidentally, is the year she appeared in the infamous Halloween: Resurrection. Bonus fact: this was the first of four episodes starring MCU's future War Machine actor Don Cheadle.

Ewan McGregor (Duncan Stewart)

Speaking of Star Wars actors, playing a young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequel trilogy skyrocketed Ewan McGregor to the A-list. The Golden Globe-winning Scotsman actor had already received acclaim for his lead role in Trainspotting a year before playing a desperate man holding Dr. Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) and others hostage at a convenience store on ER's third season.

Nick Offerman (Rog)

Ewan McGregor won his Golden Globe for FX's Fargo, which, in its previous season, had starred Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation's Ron Swanson and Megan Mullally's husband) in a recurring role. The actor made his TV debut as aspiring rock star whose bass player band mate is rushed into County General on ER's mockumentary style Season 4 premiere that was filmed and broadcasted live.

Adam Scott (David Kerstetter)

Nick Offerman's Parks and Recreation co-star Adam Scott (who has made more dramatic turns recently in Black Mass or the HBO series Big Little Lies) can also boast ER as one of his earliest acting gigs. In the medical drama's first season, the then 22-year-old played a man bleeding out of his chest after being hit by a car.

Lin Shaye (Margaret)

Adam Scott also a few horror movies under his belt, as recently as Krampus or as early as Hellraiser: Bloodline, but Lin Shaye of Insidious and A Nightmare on Elm Street fame, a living legend of the genre. The 77-year-old actress, and sister of New Line Cinema founder Bob Shaye, also had the honor appearing on the final episode of ER.

Octavia Spencer (Maria Jones)

Another star I regard as an underrated Scream Queen (for Drag Me to Hell, the title role of Ma, and the grandmother in Robert Zemeckis' The Witches remake) is Octavia Spencer. Yet, years before she became the Academy Award-winning star of The Help, the actress appeared on Season 5 of ER as a pregnant woman thinking of having her third abortion.

Keegan-Michael Key (Witkowski)

While his best friend and writing parter Jordan Peele has since graduated into scarier and dramatic projects more frequently, Keegan-Michael Key is still trucking with plenty of comedic parts on his resume as of late. However, ironically, the now 49-year-old former MADtv star made his TV debut on ER in the eighth season of the popular and often humorless medical drama

Kal Penn (Narajan)

After hitting it big as one-half of the titular duo from the smash hit stoner comedy Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Kal Penn would soon graduate into more serious projects, such as a position in the Obama Administration and playing a doctor on House from 2007-2012. His first time playing a medical professional, however, was in a brief appearance on ER in a 2001 episode from the series' eighth season.

Jared Padalecki (Paul Harris)

Early 2021 sees Jared Padalecki graduate to a new genre, specifically the western, as the title character of The CW's Walker after chasing ghosts and goblins on Supernatural as Sam Winchester for 15 seasons. Yet, while the 38-year-old Scream King was still a series regular on Gilmore Girls, he played a high school student who gets in a car crash with his father, played by Jim Belushi, after arguing over his future as a hockey player on a Season 7 episode of ER.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Firefighter Larkin)

Starring as Jared Padalecki's father on Supernatural was Jeffrey Dean Morgan, whose best known role in the realm of medical TV dramas is on Grey's Anatomy as Denny Duquette, Izzie Stevens' (Katherine Heigl) patient and love interest. However, it was only a few years earlier when the prolific comic book adaptation actor appeared on the seventh season of ER as a firefighter undergoing a leg amputation.

What do you think? Does seeing these celebrities before their prime make you want to rewatch ER from the beginning to point out even more of the stars your may have missed? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back for additional information and updates on the long-running medical drama, as well as even more inside looks into famous guest stars that may have slipped your mind, here on CinemaBlend.

Centered around a misanthropic medical genius who led a team of diagnostics at a New Jersey hospital, despite his dependence for pain medication, House proved to be a successful new spin on the medical drama format — particularly with its celebrated lead turn from Hugh Laurie's award-winning performance. Created by David Shore, the Emmy-winning series ran for eight seasons on Fox and it was one of the highest-rated shows on television during its peak. It also notably elevated Kal Penn and Olivia Wilde's careers, who joined the acclaimed series during its second half. Having concluded its run in 2012, it's been eight years since House aired on TV. Here's what the cast of House has been working on since the program came to a close.

Hugh Laurie (Dr. Gregory House)

As Dr. Gregory House, the troubled title character of House and Head of Diagnostic Medicine, Hugh Laurie gave an award-winning performance at the center of this show, and the only actor to appear in every episode of its nearly 200-episode run. A celebrated English comedian who was previously best known for A Bit of Fry & Laurie, Sense and Sensibility, 101 Dalmatians, and Stuart Little 1 & 2, House gave Laurie a great deal of acclaim as a dramatic actor, furthering his career in the U.S.

Since House concluded, Laurie has notably appeared in the mini-series The Night Manager, as well as HBO's acclaimed satire, Veep, for which he earned his 10th Emmy nomination. He also starred in the short-lived series, Chance, and he appeared in Catch-22, Tomorrowland and Holmes & Watson. He's currently seen on the HBO space comedy, Avenue 5, from the creator of Veep. Next, Hugh Laurie stars in The Personal History of David Copperfield, which should come out later this year. He's also a celebrated author and blues musician.

Lisa Edelstein (Dr. Lisa Cuddy)

As Dr. Lisa Cuddy, an endocrinologist and Dean of Medicine who had a passionate working/personal relationship with Dr. House, Lisa Edelstein had a primary role in House until its seventh season finale. The character resigns from her position, and she wasn't seen in the show's final season. After her time on this drama series, Edelstein played the lead role in Bravo's dramedy series, Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, which concluded in 2018. Edelstein had recurring roles in Castle, American Dad, The Legend of Korra, The Good Doctor, The Kominsky Method, for which she received a Screen Actors Guild ensemble nomination, and House of Lies — a different House altogether. The actress also played a role in the indie dramedy, Joshy, and she recently starred in Phoenix, Oregon, which was released earlier this year. Up next, Edelstein will be seen in Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets.

Omar Epps (Dr. Eric Foreman)

Playing the part of Dr. Eric Foreman, a neurology specialist in Dr. House's diagnostic team, Omar Epps was seen prominently throughout House's eight season run. Previously seen in Juice, Higher Learning, The Wood, Love and Basketball, ER, Scream 2, Major League II, Against the Ropes, and Dracula 2000, among other movies and shows, prior to his work in this acclaimed Fox series, House wasn't Epps' claim to fame, but it was quite easily among his most prominent roles. When House came to an end in 2012, the actor played a role in ABC's short-lived Resurrection and became a lead in USA's Shooter, which ran from 2016-2018. He also starred in Almost Christmas, Traffik, 3022, and played a reoccurring role in NBC's This Is Us. Next, he'll be seen in Fatal Affair. Outside of acting, Epps published an autobiographical book, From Fatherless to Fatherhood, in 2018.

Olivia Wilde (Dr. Remy "Thirteen" Hadley)

When Olivia Wilde joined House in 2007 as Dr. Remy "Thirteen" Hadley, the actress was still a relative newcomer, having appeared in several small film and TV roles. But as her work on the show continued, Wilde's profile grew, she starred in movies like Alpha Dog, TRON: Legacy, The Change-Up and Cowboys & Aliens. When House concluded, Wilde continued expanding her movie career with Drinking Buddies, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, Rush, The Lazarus Effect, and Love the Coopers. She also starred in HBO's short-lived Vinyl, and made her Broadway debut with 2017's 1984. Most notably, Wilde made her directorial debut with last year's acclaimed coming-of-age comedy, Booksmart. This paved the way for a promising new career behind-the-camera. She also starred in December's Richard Jewell in a controversial role. Next, Wilde's slated to direct and star in Don't Worry, Darling. She's also attached to direct Perfect.

Jesse Spencer (Dr. Robert Chase)

As Dr. Robert Chase, the diagnostic team's surgeon and intensive care specialist, Jesse Spencer played a prominent role throughout House's tenure. The Australian actor was previously known for Neighbours and Uptown Girl, though House is arguably considered his most famous role. Nevertheless, once the Fox medical show concluded, Spencer joined another long-running series. Specifically, Spencer can be seen as Lieutenant/Captain Matthew Casey on the NBC drama series, Chicago Fire. He got the gig in 2012 and still remains on the popular series. Additionally, the actor played Casey in Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med, respectively, and he also appeared in 2015's action/crime-thriller, The Girl Is in Trouble. Furthermore, Spencer lent his voice to a brief role in Phineas and Ferb. Outside of acting, Spencer keeps in touch with Hugh Laurie through their charity cover group, Band from TV. He plays the violin in this ensemble.

Jennifer Morrison (Dr. Allison Cameron)

Playing Dr. Allison Cameron, an immunologist in Dr. House's diagnostic team, Jennifer Morrison played a primary role in House until Season 6, when she was written out of the series. Morrison returned briefly in 2010 and made an appearance in the series finale, but her tenure on House was over shortly before House's own conclusion. Since House, Morrison has prominently starred in ABC's Once Upon A Time, but she also appeared in Warrior, Star Trek (2009), and How I Met Your Mother. Morrison also starred in Amityville: The Awakening, The Report, Assassination Nation, and, recently, Bombshell. She also acted in an Off-Broadway production of The End of Longing, in 2017 and joined her former House co-star Omar Epps in This Is Us. Additionally, Morrison made her directorial debut with Netflix's Sun Dogs, which she also starred in. She also directed an episode of HBO's Euphoria.

Robert Sean Leonard (Dr. James Wilson)

Playing Dr. James Wilson, the Head of Department of Oncology and a close friend/colleague of Dr. House, Robert Sean Leonard played a persistent role in House. Best known for his role in Dead Poets Society, and a Tony-winning actor for his performance in The Invention of Love, Leonard appears on the stage and screen, though House gave the actor a sizable role on the popular series. Once House concluded, Leonard played a reoccurring role in Falling Skies. The award-winning actor also returned to the stage in To Kill a Mockingbird, Prodigal Son, Camelot, Broadway's revival of Sunday in the Park with George, and, recently, Edward Albee's At Home at the Zoo in 2018. He also had a reoccurring role in Law & Order: SVU, as well as parts in The Good Wife, The Blacklist, Battle Creek, Blue Bloods, and the mini-series The Hot Zone.

Kal Penn (Dr. Lawrence Kutner)

As Dr. Lawrence Kutner, a sports medicine and rehabilitation specialist, Kal Penn joined House in the middle of its fourth season, i.e. its own midpoint. Best known for playing Kumar Patel in the Harold & Kumar series and Taj in the Van Wilder movies, Penn's appearance in this medical drama was a notable departure from his comedies, though Penn previously received praise for 2007's underrated drama, The Namesake. In 2009, Penn left House to join the White House in President Barack Obama's administration as an associate director in the White House Office of Public Engagement, though he stepped away for A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas. He returned to the position afterward, but left again after accepting a part in How I Met Your Mother. Penn has since appeared in Designated Survivor and hosted Superhuman. He also co-created and lead the NBC series, Sunnyside.

Amber Tamblyn (Dr. Martha Masters)

As Dr. Martha Masters, a reserved, socially awkward medical student based on one of the actress' real-life best friends, Amber Tamblyn was a late-in-the-game addition to House, serving a multi-episode arc in the seventh, second-to-last season and making a brief appearance in the series finale. While Dr. Masters didn't have an extensive stay in the series, it was a personal character for Tamblyn to play. Though she's best known for Joan of Arcadia and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants films, as well as The Ring, Two and a Half Men, and 127 Hours, Tamblyn is also an accomplished author and a filmmaker. She wrote several poetry books, and she recently published both a novel and a memoir since House ended. Additionally, Tamblyn directed and co-wrote 2016's Paint It Black, and she's expected to star in an upcoming TV adaptation of Y: The Last Man.

Peter Jacobson (Dr. Chris Taub)

As Dr. Chris Taub, a plastic surgeon who joins Dr. House's diagnostic team in Season 4, Peter Jacobson is another actor who gained a prominent role in House during its midway point. But, unlike Kal Penn and Olivia Wilde, Jacobson kept a consistent presence throughout the remainder of the series. A character actor who made appearances in NYPD Blue, Law & Order, Good Night And Good Luck, As Good As It Gets, Private Parts, ER, Entourage, and more before his time on this medical drama, House was undeniably the actor's biggest, most prominent work. Following its conclusion, Jacobson starred in Colony from 2016-2018. He also starred in Ray Donovan and Law & Order: SVU, and made appearances in Chicago P.D., It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Madam Secretary, and Fear the Walking Dead. Jacobson also recently starred in The Goldfinch. He'll be seen in Violet next.

Odette Annable (Dr. Jessica Adams)

As Dr. Jessica Adams, a prison clinic physician who met Dr. House in prison and later joined his diagnostic team, Odette Annable was a considerably late addition to House. She was only seen in the show's final season, though she was already an established star when she joined the series. Notably, Annable (formally Yustman) starred in 2008's Cloverfield, as well as The Unborn, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, and October Road. Her prominent role in House's final season continued to establish her television presence. 

Once the show wrapped, Annable had a main role in Pure Genius and later Supergirl, while she had multi-episode narratives in Banshee, The Astronaut Wives Club, Two and a Half Men, and more. Most recently, Annable starred in Tell Me A Story's second season. She also briefly returned to Supergirl. Next, Annable's set to appear in the ABC series, Thirtysomething(else).

Charlyne Yi (Dr. Chi Park)

Playing Dr. Chi Park, a neurologist with anger management issues, Charlyne Yi was another late-in-the-game addition to House's main cast. Also, the dramatic series was a departure from the comedian's typically light-hearted work, which could include music, magic, and other quirky elements. While it never gained wide commercial success, Yi was notably best known for producing, co-writing, and starring in the 2009 romantic comedy Paper Heart, which also starred Michael Cera. She was also seen in Knocked Up. Nowadays, Yi primarily works as a voice actress, notably playing regular roles in We Bare Bears and Steven Universe. She was also seen in The Disaster Artist, Always Be My Maybe, Jexi, and heard in Trolls World Tour. She also had a guest role in Good Girls. Yi is also an accomplished musician and author; she recently published a book of poetry. She'll next appear in Happily.

Who is your favorite House cast member? Do you miss this show? Let us know in the comments below!

Stoner comedies are their own special thing that require just the right mood (...usually stoned) for enjoying their full delights. While Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle and the film's two sequels are recent-ish examples of the sub-genre that got lots of non-stoners talking about how wacky the movies were, we have yet to see any adventures from Harold and Kumar beyond A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, which was released in 2011. Star Kal Penn would still love to make a fourth film in the series, but he thinks there's one key to getting it done now.

Each of the first three Harold & Kumar movies were released in theaters, helping the franchise (which was made for about $40 million total) make almost $116 million worldwide, but it turns out that Kal Penn would like to see something else happen if they get to add to the series. Here's what he told Variety:

I hadn't really thought about this, but Kal Penn does make a good point about how people like to watch their stoner comedies. Sure, it's obvious that many folks were just fine with going to the theater to watch the first three Harold & Kumar movies, but these things tend to really shine with repeat viewings at home when you've got nowhere else to be, can lay around in your undies and don't feel the need to (potentially) drive illegally because you are...High. As. A. Kite.

Of course, because Kal Penn mentioned binging the movies, having Harold & Kumar Survive The Coronavirus (or whatever the new movie will be called) debut on a streaming service leads to another benefit. Instead of franchise fans having to marathon their way through the first movies at home, and then head to the theater to watch the duo's new adventure, they can just do all four movies in one sitting, without ever having to, you know, shower, put on pants or stop eating pepperoni pizza with cheese doodles and melted ice cream on top.

Is that what people who like to smoke a little sumthin' sumthin' enjoy eating? Asking for a friend...

Speaking of this magical fourth Harold & Kumar movie, don't think that Kal Penn is the only one interested in keeping the toke party hopping. Apparently, his co-star John Cho, as well as franchise creators / writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, are all on board with the idea of giving fans another sequel.

While I usually have to be convinced that sequels which come more than five years after a previous franchise entry are a good move, I have to admit that I'm kinda into the thought of catching up with Harold Lee and Kumar Patel as married men who smoke pot with their kids. Alright, maybe not that exact idea, but you get what I'm saying. Who doesn't want to watch some formerly wild dudes rebuild their connection to cannabis and do some crazy, stupid shit? No one; that's who!

We'll just have to wait and see if Kal Penn, John Cho and the rest can set aside some time to give fans another Harold & Kumar movie, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest. In the meantime, check out our 2020 new movie release guide, which will be updated with premiere delays as soon as the information becomes available.

One new NBC show may need a miracle to not become the first cancelled show of the 2019-2020 season. The series in question is a freshman comedy with some major star power. It airs between outgoing comedy The Good Place and veteran crime drama Law & Order: SVU.

The show in jeopardy is the New York-set, Sunnyside, which stars Kal Penn as Garrett Modi. Garrett is a former New York City Councilman, whose career got abruptly ended when he was arrested for public intoxication. Afterward, he presses reset. He moves in with his sister and is hired by immigrants to help them fulfill their dream of becoming American citizens.

So far, two episodes of Sunnyside have aired, and sadly for the show, the ratings news has gone from bad to worse. Sunnyside’s series premiere garnered 1.773 million viewers and earned a 0.4 rating in the key 18-49 demo, per TV Series Finale.

To put Sunnyside’s ratings in context, let’s turn to NBC’s other new series, Bluff City Law. It got a 0.8 rating in the 18-49 demo. In total viewers, the freshman legal drama drew in 4.605 million. Sunnyside’s second episode slipped from its debut numbers. It drew 1.25 million viewers, down a tenth from the series premiere, per TVLine.

In the key demo, the news was not any better for Sunnyside. However, it was not far off from its debut, either. Episode 2 earned a 0.3 rating in the 18-49 demo. In comparison, a new episode of The Good Place brought in 2.1 million viewers and got a 0.6 rating. The Good Place is in its fourth and final season.

It has had time to build its viewership. Sunnyside is just getting started. In the age of valuing delayed viewership and other modes of watching, Sunnyside could keep from getting cancelled. Look at what happened with A.P. Bio. The NBC comedy got cancelled, but fans rallied for it to get saved.

In its second season, A.P. Bio's rating in the 18-49 demo did not go above a 0.5 rating. After airing what seemed to be its series finale, NBC reversed its decision, greenlighting a third season for NBCU’s streaming platform. The excellent news for Sunnyside is that it could theoretically land there as well if it gets cancelled.

Having The Good Place as a lead-in should continue to help Sunnyside. Anticipation for the series finale, which has been teased as being akin to Breaking Bad’s, should keep its numbers’ steady. As far as Sunnyside’s network future, only time will tell for sure. Hopefully, for fans, word of mouth can help bolster Sunnyside’s numbers enough for it to avoid cancellation.

New episodes of Sunnyside air Thursdays, at 9:30 ET, on NBC. The new series has been one of this fall’s premieres.

The Big Bang Theory has built up one of the most impressive guest star lists of any TV show currently airing -- The Simpsons obviously takes the top prize there -- and the show will keep that streak going with this week's episode. In it, Sheldon, Amy and the rest will welcome Lord of the Rings vet Sean Astin and Harold & Kumar alum Kal Penn. You can check out the two guest stars' first look for the upcoming episode below.

It looks to me as if Sean Astin and Kal Penn's characters are just as happy to be involved with this plotline as the Big Bang Theory cast members were to have the two actors joining the show in its final season. (Kunal Nayaar really loved having Penn around, too.) It also kind of looks like Penn could be amused by the somewhat disheveled Astin appearing as if he just woke up from taking a nap beneath the very restaurant table they're sitting at.

It sounds like a joke, but Sean Astin and Kal Penn are playing a pair of brilliant Chicago physicists named Dr. Pemberton and Dr. Campbell, respectively. And as Sheldon and the other characters have proven time and again over the years, sitcom physicists are generally stressed out and will sporadically show off strange behavior patterns. In any case, there's a good chance that Sheldon and Amy will want to shove the visiting doctors under the table.

When they arrive, Drs. Pemberton and Campbell have exciting news: they've managed to prove correct Shamy's super asymmetry theory, which has been an ongoing plotline for the couple. There's one downside to all of this, and it's a pretty gigantic one. The two men aim to remove Amy from contention for a Nobel nomination, which is obviously pure blasph-Amy. (Where's MY Nobel Prize?) Just look at the difference in moods between the two parties.

One would assume that Sheldon and Amy manage to get the upper hand here, by either convincing Sean Astin and Kal Penn's physicists to keep her on board, or by somehow getting the two men's work deemed unusable for whatever reason. I can't imagine The Big Bang Theory would spend its final season delivering a series of professional setbacks to Sheldon and Amy, just to have them completely fail all over again in the end.

Unless, what if Sean Astin is really playing a revised version of Bob from Stranger Things, who brings his knowledge of Hawkins' Upside Down to...nah, that's just too crazy, right? Right?!?

Below, you can check out the trailer for the episode, titled "The Confirmation Polarization."

Are you guys pumped to see Sean Astin and Kal Penn making their debuts on The Big Bang Theory? This season already welcomed billionaire Bill Gates into the fold, along with welcoming back past guest stars such as Bob Newhart, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Keith Carradine, Christine Baranski and more. Now if only Elijah Wood and John Cho could team up as the guest stars for the next week's episode.

The Big Bang Theory airs Thursday nights on CBS at 8:00 p.m. ET, and there are only a healthy handful of episodes left to go before the show bids fans a fond farewell. To see what'll be popping up in primetime before that happens, keep current with our midseason TV schedule.

When The Big Bang Theory kicked off its first season in 2007, Kunal Nayyar had only one TV role to his name: an uncredited Iraqi terrorist on NCIS. The New Delhi-raised actor changed his fate by auditioning to play physicist Raj Koothrappali, and as The Big Bang Theory closes in on the series' final episodes, Nayyar humbly gave Season 12 guest star Kal Penn credit for inspiring him to believe actors of Indian descent could make it in Hollywood. In his words:

Those are indeed kind words coming from Kunal Nayyar, who has achieved phenomenal heights of financial success and fame as part of The Big Bang Theory, which has basically been television's most-watched comedy every since its third season. (That's when it was shifted to follow fellow ratings monster Two and a Half Men on Thursday nights.) If someone would have asked Nayyar in 2006 to predict his own future, he probably couldn't have dreamed how successful he would become.

In Kunal Nayyar's mind, that success was attainable in part because of Kal Penn's own achievements. Born in New Jersey to Gujarati Indian immigrants, Penn began his acting career in the late 1990s, but became mainstream-recognizable thanks to 2004's stoner comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, which inspired two big screen sequels. Penn's Van Wilder character also got his own 2006 spinoff, Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj.

Kal Penn took that feature film fame and landed a more long-term gig as part of the main cast of House back in 2007. He went on to star in other TV shows like Designated Survivor and Deadbeat, while appearing How I Met Your Mother, New Girl and 24. He's hosted three different shows focused on science-driven subjects, and has also used his influence in non-entertainment ventures, such as serving on President Obama's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, among other more political and socially minded activities.

Even though Kal Penn did a lot of these more large-scale projects after Kunal Nayyar had already booked The Big Bang Theory, the former obviously put years into his craft before making it big. Nayyar, who received his master of fine arts in acting from Temple University, was looking to Penn as an inspiration while performing on the stage for William Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost in 2006, as well as for the play Huck and Holden.

Now, the two actors are finally sharing the screen for the first time, all thanks to The Big Bang Theory. That said, I'm not so sure just how much they'll appear together, since Kal Penn will be teamed up with fellow guest star Sean Astin as a pair of physicists who inadvertently confirmed the super asymmetry concept Sheldon and Amy have been working on. Here's hoping Raj butts into the discussions at some point to have a quick moment with Penn's Dr. Campbell.

You can check out Kunal Nayyar's Instagram post below.

The Big Bang Theory is now back in the swing of things with Season 12, with the end nearer than ever. Watch it every Thursday night on CBS at 8:00 p.m. ET, and let us know where you think Kunal Nayyar's career should go next. And don't forget about all the other new and returning shows also debuting on the midseason schedule.

As The Big Bang Theory winds down with its series finale coming along in a few months, the show has now added a couple of guest stars who will have some intriguing roles on the comedy that will impact Amy and Sheldon in a major way. Actors Sean Astin and Kal Penn are set to appear in Season 12 as two scientists who have big news for the couple.

CBS confirmed today that Sean Astin and Kal Penn will debut in the same episode, and are set to play two new scientists to the show. According to TV Line, the duo are set to guest star as Dr. Pemberton and Dr. Campbell, respectively, for one upcoming episode. This new team of physicists has actually managed to accidentally confirm Sheldon and Amy's complex theory about super asymmetry, and will likely be talking to the newlyweds about their findings.

Sean Astin is probably still best known for his role in The Lord of the Rings trilogy as Frodo's faithful friend Sam, but he's amassed almost 150 film and TV credits since he first hit the screen in the 1981 TV movie, Please Don't Hit Me, Mom. While Astin was most notably seen recently in Season 2 of Stranger Things (we hardly knew ye, Bob), he's also famously appeared in youth defining movies like The Goonies, Memphis Belle, Encino Man and Rudy, while also starring in The War of The Roses, 24, Law & Order, Alphas and The Strain among his many other credits.

Kal Penn also has a role he will probably be known for until the end of time, but for him it's the part of Kumar in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle and its two full, big screen sequels, along with two short films. Penn, who got his start in a short film in 1998, has dozens of credits that stretch across multiple genres and cover comedy and drama. He's also used his talents in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, ER, Love Don't Cost a Thing, 24, House, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, and was recently seen in Designated Survivor.

While it's good, in theory, that the Drs. Pemberton and Campbell will be able to confirm what Amy and Sheldon have been working on for many months now, we need to be honest...this is sure to annoy Sheldon to no end. Why? Well, they seem to stumble upon the information randomly while working on something else. Normally, that wouldn't be an issue, but Sheldon and Amy have been struggling with their theory of super asymmetry as opposed to simply working on it for a long time. We all know that Sheldon doesn't like to see himself as not being as smart as any regular old physicist, so the idea that someone could not even be directly working on super asymmetry and figure something out about it might be a real blow to his confidence.

Also, this doesn't take into account all the personal problems that the couple has been through since beginning to work on their theory. Early on, when Amy complained about not being able to devote enough time to their work because of her own career as a neurobiologist and all the projects there she had to give attention to, Sheldon actually went behind her back to the president of Caltech and got her taken off the neurobiology study she initiated. If you'll remember, this (deservedly) angered Amy to the point where the ensuing argument and Sheldon's confusion over it led to him having to take the advice of a dream ghost to figure out how to make things right.

Then, of course, was the big blow for Amy and Sheldon. Once they had finished the main research, a search for all the citations they'd need for the paper they were going to write about their theory brought up another paper from several decades earlier that disproved all of their months-long hard work on super asymmetry. Instead of being able to pick themselves up and rethink the project, Sheldon and Amy wallowed in their apparent defeat, with a serious pep talk from Leonard and Penny about how smart they are not even really doing the trick to get them back to their old, confident selves.

This went on for a long time, unfortunately. During these bouts of depression, Sheldon later admitted to Amy that, because he was so sure about their theory for super asymmetry, he's now not sure that he can trust his instincts on anything are correct. Amy, worried that he will reconsider his relationship with her, went to Penny and Leonard for help, which ended up possibly being the best idea she's had in a long time. It led to them watching the pep talk tape Sheldon made for himself when he was in high school, and Amy's realization that their theory might have only been wrong from one perspective. So, when we left the couple, they were finally re-energized and ready to tackle new ideas on super asymmetry.

With everything Amy and Sheldon have been through with regards to this damn theory, I can't imagine that the news that another couple of researchers accidentally came across some info that will confirm their new thoughts will go down easy. I can see Amy being surprised and a bit miffed for a while, but then coming around to see that this is really a blessing for them. But, thinking about Sheldon's history, is there any fan of The Big Bang Theory who doesn't see him being mega-petty about the findings of Dr. Pemberton and Dr. Campbell? Maybe even to the point where he refuses to believe that they really found what they say they did? I, for one, will not be shocked if he acts like a big baby when he gets word of their findings and how they came to them.

Well, we can see how the revelations of Sean Astin and Kal Penn's characters impact Sheldon and Amy when they debut on The Big Bang Theory, but, right now an air date for their episode has not been set. To make sure you don't miss it, or any of the other big moments of The Big Bang Theory's finale season, be sure to keep up with the comedy when it airs Thursdays on CBS at 8 p.m. EST.

It seems like there's some confusion over who's the star of this show among its cast. Amusing segments aside, what's evident here is that We Are Men has some funny male leads sharing the spotlight. The comedy stars Tony Shalhoub, Jerry O'Connell, Kal Penn and Chris Smith together, playing four men living in a short-term apartment complex and attempting to ride out the aftermath of their individual romantic troubles.

CBS' full description breaks down the characters' backgrounds even further.

The age gap between the characters is particularly intriguing. Rather than putting for twenty or thirty-somethings together, we have a multigenerational set of men, which could make for some more original humor than what we might see in another other bro-centric comedy.

CBS has this one set to air on Monday nights, which may offset some of the more female-focused humor brought to viewers by 2 Broke Girls and newcomer Mom. But it may stand out a bit, as it's the lone single-camera comedy airing on CBS on Monday nights. So we'll have to wait and see how it does. I'm also wondering when we can start referring to it as WAM.

CBS has We Are Men set to air Mondays at 8:30 p.m. ET starting this fall. View CBS' full 2013-2014 line-up here.

The untitled pilot, formerly known as Ex-men and otherwise known as Rob Greenberg’s pilot at CBS, has finally gotten its main ducks all in a row. Over the past few months, the pilot has signed on a ton of notable names to its half-hour comedy, and now, to round out the cast, Jerry O’Connell has signed on as one of the leads in the pilot.

O’Connell will join the single-camera comedy as Stuart, a man with a successful business, but a far less successful personal life. According to Deadline, Stuart is an ob/gyn living in a small rental unit after a divorce, and it’s worth noting that this divorce will be #2 for the good doctor.

O’Connell joins several men already cast in Greenberg’s comedy, including star Chris Smith, who will join the rental unit and will earn words of wisdom about relationships from his more experienced neighbors. Joining O’Connell in providing wisdom to Smith’s character is Tony Shaloub as Frank, a man who has been married and divorced four times and Kal Penn as Gil, a man kicked out of his home after being caught in a bad affair.

Back in July, the untitled pilot was the first CBS ordered of the season, but despite the early start, shooting on the pilot will not begin until next month. TV Blend will keep you posted if this one makes it to series, and with the big names involved and the early interest in the pilot, I’ll go ahead and state the untitled comedy has a pretty good shot, at least if it gets its title issue in order.

Amidst his acting jobs, Harold and Kumar's Kal Penn got involved in politics, and then returned to television, taking a recurring role on CBS' How I Met Your Mother, playing Robin's love interest Kevin. Now it seems he'll be putting his public speaking and performing abilities to good use as the host of a new show on the Discovery Channel.

Discovery made the announcement today that Penn will serve as host of their new competition series The Big Brain Theory. The series is set to debut next spring (2013) and will have seemingly impossible engineering challenges set up to be solved by contestants in each episode.

From the sound of it, much in the way other shows look for the next big singer or dancer or chef, The Big Brain Theory is seeking the brainiest people out to work through difficult engineering challenges. Contestants will have 30 minutes to figure out the solution to the problem they're presented with. And a panel of judges will determine which of the results is the best engineering concept, after which they'll assign two captains to lead their team to execute the project. The winning team members are immune from elimination for that week, while those on the losing team will face the judges to see who among them will be eliminated.

The grand prize for the competition is $50k and a one-year contract with WET, "the industry leader behind some of the world’s most innovative water-based designed environments and experiences including the Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas."

Kal Penn's involvement seems like a good approach as far as bringing a familiar name and face to this series, but the concept is intriguing on its own and could be really entertaining, depending on how it's presented. It sounds like the format i's set up similarly to reality competition shows like Hell's Kitchen and American Idol in that the contestants will not only face off against each other each week, but will also be living with each other. So we'll get the chance to get to know the characters when their thinking caps are off (or at the very least, askew) as they kick back and get to know one another between challenges.

Earlier today we shared the news that Paranormal Activity 3 star Chris Smith was cast in the lead of the single-camera comedy pilot in the works for CBS. Now it looks like another familiar face (and even more recognizable name) has boarded the project in a co-starring capacity.

Deadline has reported that Kal Penn has signed on to co-star in the Rob Greenberg-created pilot. Ex-Men will have Chris Smith playing a man who befriends the other "more experienced guys living in a short-term rental complex." Penn's character is Gil, a man who's living at the complex after being kicked out of his home when he was caught engaging in "the world's worst affair." There's definitely a story there. And one we'll get to hear if this comedy goes to series.

Kal Penn is probably best known for his starring role in the Harold and Kumar movies, and he had a recurring role on 24 in the series' sixth season, and regular role on Fox's House for a couple of seasons. He left the Fox medical drama when he took time off from acting to work at the White House. He's since returned to acting and played in a recurring role on CBS' How I Met Your Mother. If things go well for Ex-Men, that'll put him back on CBS. The cast for the pilot seems to be shaping up nicely, especially when factoring in Penn's involvement. We'll have to wait and see who else joins the project.

It all started back in 2004 when two young men got stoned and decided to take a trip to their favorite burger place to placate their munchies. Since then, Harold and Kumar has cemented itself as one of the best stoner comedy duos of all time, right up there with Cheech and Chong and Jay and Silent Bob. With the third movie in the series coming out this weekend, I asked star Kal Penn if they ever anticipated the movie to reach these levels. His answer? Of course not.

Last weekend I was invited to sit down with the actor to talk about his role in the newest installment, A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas, which is out now. Read our interview below as Penn discusses how Kumar links to his actual character, what it was like being part of the film’s claymation sequence, and his opinion on waffles vs. pancakes.

When you were making the first film, a small little stoner movie, did you in any way expect to now be filming a third film?

No. Of course not [laughs]. I also didn't even view it as a stoner movie when we shot the first one. I kind of- well, when you read the script it reads more like a traditional buddy comedy more than anything else. And, um, it wasn't until after it came out on DVD that you realized stoners were claiming it as a stoner movie, frat guys were calling it, like, a frat boy movie, the Asian-American community said it was an Asian-American movie. Like this is actually kind of cool! If people are thinking that it's their movie, then that means John and I did our jobs in just making it a buddy comedy. And I think it isn't any of those- it definitely isn't just a stoner movie because they're not high very often.

Yeah, that's true.

Compared to legit stoner movies.

Yeah.

And only bad things happen to them when they are. But I mean, look, you could say the same of any category they put it in. We had a three picture option contract when I signed on for the first movie, but I don't think any of us actually thought it was gonna turn into something. So we're just really... It's only because the fans discovered it on DVD. We got a second one and a third one, so we just love the fact that they gave us that opportunity.

I saw both films in theaters.

Oh, really?

Yeah, I've been a fan of this from the beginning.

Thank you!

So just coming from that, going back and now coming forward, what was it like being in production on this installment?

It was cool. I especially liked that... well you know, it takes place six years after the first two movies. We have the chance to age both with the audience and ourselves. And kind of figuring, well these guys can't believably be 22 years old anymore. And the audience isn't 22 anymore. So... I mean, there are 22 year olds that will see it, but, you know what I mean, the people that have grown up with the characters- you want them to deal with the same stuff you're dealing with, which is like, do you still see your college friends on a daily basis? Are you gonna get married and have kids at some point? What's the deal? So that was a lot of fun.

Sure. And I guess when you have a franchise, you tend to see that the actors kind of lead their personalities into the character a bit more. Do you feel that way with Kumar?

I actually am the exact opposite of Kumar in real life, which is why I find him so much fun to play.

Interesting.

It's such a blast to play somebody who's that crass and simultaneously that smart. And who has a heart of gold.

Sure.

In fact, I think that because he has a heart of gold and comes from a positive place, he can get away with a lot more on the scale of vulgarity than other characters might.

And do you think he's- well, in these movies he's really kind of the immature one versus Harold who's the more straight laced one. Do you think that he ever will actually turn that corner and grow up?

Um, I think he grows up a lot in this movie.

Yeah, he definitely grows up a lot.

But he grows up without having to acquiesce on the things that make him who he is. I think that that's the struggle that a lot of us go through as we're getting older, y'know, I still like things that are immature and stupid, and who says I have to change? Just because I'm 30 now I have to suddenly stop making fart jokes? No. [laughs] The universal joke that remains funny when 7 and, I imagine, when you're 87, is the fart. So there are different versions of that that Kumar can retain, but still want to have a kid, still want to have a wife and settle down.

And I guess- well, this is now the third film and the third director. I mean, you had Danny Leiner on the first one, Jon and Hayden on the second one and now Todd on the third one. And I'm curious, did it change much with the filmmaker behind it?

No, I don't think so. I think that, because the writers are the same for each of the three, the truth and sentiment of the characters has stayed the same. I think what Todd brought to the franchise is that he's an incredibly visual director. And John and I, having played these characters for seven years, are very emotional with our approach to it. So we want to make sure that the friendship is the most important thing, and for Todd having to shoot a movie in 3D, it's got to be visual. Which I think worked out really well for us, because we couldn't be concerned with the fact that it was being shot in 3D. That was his job. And he didn't necessarily have to be concerned with the emotional arc to the same extent, because we'd already played these characters twice before. So it worked out really well. I think that each- well, I don't think this is a franchise where each one is trying to one up the one before, but instead to build on it in a progressive kind of fashion. So I love Danny Leiner and I love Jon and Hayden and Todd in his own right. So yeah.

Now Tom Lennon was actually just talking about the 3D and was telling me that because of the width of the whole set up, that when you were actually just doing a one shot and talking to somebody offstage, you were actually just talking to a piece of tape.

I mean, that was the hard part. We shot this movie in 3D as opposed to doing a post-production 3D conversion. The quality's incredible, and it looks much better than if we had done it post. But the one drawback of that is that it is, uh, y'know... In a comedy about friends, you want to be able to look at the other actor. So there was a lot of acting to pieces of tape instead.

Does that affect your approach at all? I just mean, because- you still have the other actors, they're on set, right?

Yeah. I mean, oftentimes they've got a set across the room. Um... it definitely affects your approach. It's not the ideal format to shoot in, just from the performance perspective. But, y'know, we managed, it was good.

And you mentioned the visual aspect, I mean, in addition to the 3D you have some really cool things. Like when you're building the plan to break into the church, actually, or more importantly, the claymation sequence... I mean, with that, how cool was it to see yourself as a claymation figure?

Claymation was awesome. I'm a- well, there are two things we find out in this one. I'm a huge fan of A Christmas Story, so doing the scene where Harold gets his penis stuck to the pole is ridiculously awesome. And the claymation similarly: I'm a big fan of all those claymation movies we watched as kids, so it's a hat tip to both of those types of movies. Where we love them so much that we wanted to, in a bizarre way, put them up on a Harold and Kumar pedestal. The narration of the church thing was problematic for me when I first read it. I am not a fan of making fun of members of the clergy.

Gotcha.

I feel like that should be, y'know- “Do you really have to do that?” is what I thought. And then I talked to Jon and Hayden about it and a few other people, and they said, “You have to remember that this is not happening in the movie, it's happening in Kumar's head.”

Right.

And so it's one of those things where in the first movie and the second movie, Kumar is so upset that other people view him in a particular way. The TSA guys pull him out of line for no particular reason, they profile him; but now you see that the tables have turned and that Kumar is just as stereotyping of others as others are of him. And there's this dream sequence where he just imagines all of the horrible things that he's going to have to do... and I actually, once I viewed it that way, I'm like, “This sort of shows you how everyone is the same.” Everyone has those awful thoughts from time to time. So it was bizarre to shoot, but kind of interesting way to bring it back to the first two movies.

And- well, I guess it's my last question- I have been asking this question: Todd says he prefers waffles, Neil said he prefers pancakes. I'm curious what you think.

Waffles. Where is Neil? [Laughs] Pancakes? Really?

Yeah, well he says that the problem is when it comes to butter, the ridges kind of make it a problem, because it pools in one area.

Neil just needs to microwave the butter a bit before... what? What? [laughs] Neil Patrick Harris is perfect in every way except for the mistake he made in answering that question.

And I also asked Todd about the research and development on the Wafflebot, he promised me next Christmas.

Oh, all set, sweet [Laughs]

Commercials on television are pretty damn awful (particularly when they come right after a major reveal in your favorite television show), but if there's one kind of commercial I miss it's the commercials for new music albums/anthologies. While they aren't completely extinct, I remember ten years ago when you couldn't watch an hour of television without seeing at least two of them. They were great because they gave you a pretty good preview of the songs plus typically featured the artist looking overly emotional while belting out choice hits. Lucky for us, Harold and Kumar have brought that experience back with a new video from Funny or Die. Check it out!

So 90% of the humor revolves around lyrics being replaced with dirty words involving either smoking pot or sex, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't chuckle a few times. It's a pretty great send-up of Christmas albums as a whole (at least they did something original) and it features one of the best stoner pairs in film history, played by the awesome John Cho and Kal Penn. This video, of course, is being released to celebrate A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas, which is due out this Friday. If you haven't already, you should head over to our Blend Film Database where you can check out the trailer for the movie as well as a full gallery of stills, all of which make the movie look seriously funny.

I haven’t been this excited about a Christmas movie since Will Ferrell ate all the free candy he could find in New York City. In Elf Will Ferrell played a character who only seemed like he was stoned, in A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas not only is nearly every character baked throughout most of the holiday season, the audience probably will be too.

That’s not to say you have to be high to enjoy a Harold and Kumar movie, I’ve seen the last two without being under the influence and loved them. This one will be genius, even if you’re living sober, but the 3D element should add an extra attraction for all you stoners. It seems designed mainly to cater to you. You’ll see what I mean when you watch the very first trailer for A Very Harold And Kumar 3D Christmas. Watch it below or in HD on Yahoo.

The list of crimes, both state and federal, committed in this trailer is pretty long. That’s a good sign when it comes to Harold & Kumar. Better still, there’s plenty of Neil Patrick Harris. Actually the trailer’s mostly Neil Patrick Harris which is a little surprising when you consider that he’s only really had at best, extended cameos in the previous two films. Granted, he was also the best thing about both of those films, so maybe giving him more to do is the right move.

They’ve even addressed Neil’s homosexuality here, which is surprising, since Harris has always made it clear that the Neil Patrick Harris in these films is just a character with no relation to the NPH that he is. Apparently the whole gay thing was just a ruse. He is gay, just gay for that… you get the idea.

It's been more than three years since we last saw Harold and Kumar, the adventuresome stoners who braved all kinds of peril on a quest to White Castle, then escaped from Guantanamo Bay in a slightly less hilarious sequel. But even if each following Harold and Kumar movie winds up being less funny than the one before it, the movies are still weirder and raunchier than most anything else out there, and provide the chance to see America's new crush Neil Patrick Harris going completely nuts and doing every drug available to him. That's why I can't help but look forward to A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, which can even be forgiven for jumping on the 3D bandwagon because it promises to give us the weirdest holiday special you ever imagined.

And though the movie won't be out until November, the weirdness has already begun. Yahoo! has premiered the first image from the film, in which Harold and Kumar are done up as rosy-cheeked tin soldiers, while NPH is holding a giant candy cane and wearing a velour suit that Bing Crosby might have admired. There's a lot to process, so you should probably just see for yourself below.

Though the movie shot over a year ago, and we saw some set photos from the shoot at a mall in Michigan, we don't really know much about the plot yet, which means this image could come from pretty much any moment in the film. But the Harold and Kumar movies are at their best when they're unpredictable, so I don't mind being in the dark for now. We'll probably get a look at a trailer soon anyway, as A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas will kick off the holiday movie season on November 4.

Kal Penn, best known as Kumar from Harold and Kumar, has one of the most interesting resumes for a young actor in Hollywood. He's worked the rounds on TV, literally, while on House, he's stoked the stoner-comedy laughs in both H&Ks and his two Van Wilder flicks and, well, he also did a stint in President Obama's campaign as the associate director in the office of public liaison (whatever that means). Now, it's back to TV for Penn.

It seems as though Kal Penn has just landed an important recurring gig on the hit CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother. This, of course, re-teams Penn with Neil Patrick Harris whose career resurgence could be credited to his cameo in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. Harris may have been killed in the second film, Escape from Guantanamo Bay, but he's still expected to show up in the third movie due out this winter... the aptly titled, A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas, how nice!

But back to the news at hand. TVLine's "Mother source says Penn will play a possible love interest for Cobie Smulders’ lovelorn Robin named Kevin." After Robin and Barney's split, the former Canadian pop star remained single throughout most of last season watching NPH's Barney mature and develop a new relationship (with Nora played by Nazanin Boniadi).

Whether Penn's Kevin will definitely function as a love interest for Smulders has yet to be confirmed but executive producer and co-creator Craig Thomas hinted at this being the case,

Yeah. But Barney has moved on (for now) and here comes Kevin. Although the role is recurring, I wouldn't expect it to recur for too long with Obama hitting the campaign trail in 2012 and he may want his associate director in the office of public liaison with him.

How I Met Your Mother returns to CBS this fall for Season 7. It airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET, starting September 19, 2011.

UPDATE! As we suspected the poster is a confirmed fake. It's actually fan art stolen from the IMDB message boards here. We've updated our source credits in the article below to reflect that.

In the last decade, as weird as it is to say, few titles have surprised me as much as the Harold and Kumar movies. I went into the first film recognizing it as Danny Leiner's follow-up to Dude, Where's My Car? and was taken aback by how funny it really was and how great the two leads were. Fast forward four years and I walk into Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay expecting a cheap, cash-in sequel, only to have it be similarly effective, though to a lesser degree. Finally convinced that it's fun to watch Kal Penn and John Cho go on sweet adventures together, A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas is very much on my radar, and now we have what several sources are claiming is first teaser poster for the movie.

But despite claims to the contrary, it's not real. The poster is actually fan art originally posted here.

We haven't heard much from the production since it started up over the summer in Michigan, and Patton Oswalt and Thomas Lennon were added to the cast, but I'm always happy to report that it still exists. The only sad thing is that we probably won't see real marketing for the film for another few months.

Check out the fan art below or head over to IMDB to see it full size. What do you think? Real poster or not?

Special thanks to Bleeding Cool's Brendon Connelly for pointing us to the original source for the fake.

For being the first day on set, a lot of things are happening in the world of A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas. First it came out from Todd Strauss-Schulson's Twitter account that the film had officially begun its first day of shooting. In a picture that came along with the tweet, you could see Kal Penn's name on a chair that confirms he has left his post at the White House to make the film. Next, a person at the Somerset Mall in Troy, Michigan snapped a photo of the set where they are shooting. Now we have two more bits of awesome.

Garnered from the Twitter accounts of those involved, it now appears that Patton Oswalt has joined the cast. Eight hours ago, John Cho, who plays Harold in the series, tweeted "In Michigan. @pattonoswalt in my vicinity, holding a sketch pad, duct tape, and a reel to reel audio recorder. Eeesh." Patton then responded, saying "Maybe it's this Michigan air, but @JohnTheCho is looking huggable, chloroform-able, and bury-able." An hour later, no doubt bombarded by questions, writer Jon Hurwitz wrote "Cannot confirm whether or not @pattonoswalt was cast in Harold & Kumar 3, or if he's simply on an espionage mission for the Ruskies." Finally, Patton sent out yet another tweet about an hour ago, saying "@Kal_Penn and I had a great time today and then he texted me a pic of a ball sac (not his)."

Not finished being excited about the film, Strauss-Schulso also posted two photos from the set, the first showing an advertisement for the WaffleBot (a product I want to wish into existence) and what appears to be a Tarantino-style trunk shot with a man in a green jacket and another in a Christmas sweater.

Patton Oswalt is easily one of the funniest people on the planet, so to hear that he has joined the Harold and Kumar universe is nothing short of a blessing. It's also nice to know that the director has absolutely no qualms about letting images leak from the set, meaning he is probably going to increase his followship by 20x by the time production is settled. Check out the set photos below and click each one to see them full size.

Ever since New York Magazine got its hands on the script for A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas back in April, it has been hard to contain excitement for it. With promises of more weed-related hijinks, waffle robots, druggie babies, and, of course, Neil Patrick Harris, the films sounds like it could be as much fun as the previous two installments. The production has had a small black cloud above it for awhile, however, as it was unknown as to whether Kal Penn, who plays Kumar, would be able to leave his job at the White House to make the film. Apparently, that black cloud is gone.

Via his Twitter account, director Todd Strauss-Schulson has posted the first photo from the set: chairs with the names "Kal Penn," "Christina Varotsis" and "Todd Strauss-Schulson" emblazoned on them in Christmas font, as well as a marijuana leaf decked out as a Christmas Tree. Hallelujah!

We still have to wait about a year-and-a-half before the film is released, but how great is this news? Harold and Kumar is one of those rare comedies that didn't totally fall apart in its sequel and, from the sound of the script, this one will not disappoint either.

Update: Twitpic user dannypurdue has posted the first picture from the set, which is located at the Somerset Mall in Troy, Michigan. Check it out below:

Last we heard Kal Penn's involvement in the next Harold and Kumar installment, A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas, was still up in the air. Various sources ranging from THR to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs have both confirmed and denied the actor's return to complete the stoner trilogy. Regardless of whether or not he is involved, a script has been written by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg and from the sound of it, we should all pray mightily that Penn shirks his responsibilities to our government.

New York Magazine's Vulture has gotten their hands on a copy of the script and, shockingly, if you liked the first two films (and who can really say they didn't?), then the third will not disappoint. According to the review, the script takes place years after the events in Guantanamo Bay and the two friends are no longer on speaking terms. Harold has become a successful Wall Street executive, is living a drug free life and is married (though there is no mention as to whether it is to Maria Quesa Dilla). Kumar, on the other hand, still lives in the old apartment and, while he is a doctor, he has been suspended for marijuana use. The two friends' lives intersect yet again when a package is delivered to Kumar's apartment for Harold and he travels to Harold's house to deliver it, setting off a series of events worthy of the first two films. Check out a short list of some of the highlights below, but be warned that there may be some slight spoilers:

• The adventure begins when Kumar accidentally sets Harold's Christmas tree on fire. The problem is that the tree was "grown special by Harold's father-in-law" and the two must go out to find a new one.
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• Apparently, the hot new toy of the season is called Wafflebot, a robot that makes waffles. I would spend an obscene amount of money to get one of these treasures.
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• A drug-addicted baby involved that the site says "makes the baby from The Hangover look like a huge prude." Perhaps my memory is a bit shady, but I don't really remember young Carlos doing anything spectacular outside of getting his head bashed by car door, wearing sunglasses, and jacking his wenus.
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• Anyone who stayed past the credits after Guantanamo Bay knows that Neil Patrick Harris actually survived the shotgun blast delivered by a pissed off Beverly D'Angelo, and thank God because you can't have Harold and Kumar without a heaping dose of Doogie Howser. In the new movie, he is hosting a TV Christmas special alongside Kelly Ripa and no doubt taking plenty of illicit drugs.
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• There is an extended claymation sequence that takes place after our favorite Asian stoners drink some "psychoactive eggnog" (I don't doubt that NPH is somehow involved in this) that leads to being chased by Evil Frosty through midtown Manhattan. According to an excerpt, Evil Frosty sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger and breaks off references to Batman and Robin (a la Mr. Freeze).
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While that all sounds spectacular, one part of the article does not: they are contemplating filming in 3D. I'm fairly certain that enough railing against the third dimension has occurred on this site that I don't have to explain why this is a dumb idea. The film is targeting a Christmas 2011/2012 release, but I'm sure I speak for a lot of you when I say that they better invent the Wafflebot sooner than that.

It looks like Kumar won’t be spending Christmas with Harold after all. Just last week, it was reported that Kal Penn would be ditching his position as associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement to re-team with John Cho for a third Harold and Kumar film. However, according to The Wrap, Penn’s current employer has no knowledge of the former actor's plan to return to Hollywood.

After Penn’s character was killed of the show House, fans were shocked to hear he was ditching acting completely to go to work for the Obama Administration. Still, Harold and Kumar 3 rumors relentlessly flooded the Internet, up until A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas was confirmed in May of 2009. After nearly a year of silence, Cho not only re-confirmed round three is happening, but that he suspects it’s still on track to hit theaters this holiday season. Cho did mention that he’s uncertain about Penn’s schedule and wonders if his buddy’s position is a ‘term-length’ job.

Just two weeks later, word got out that Penn was indeed ditching his gig for Obama to light up again with Cho. However, that report had the film set to shoot this summer, but not hit theaters until Christmas of 2011 or 2012.

Concerning The Wrap’s findings, I wouldn’t be surprised if Penn was negotiating behind the Pres’ back. It doesn’t seem like anyone knows for sure what’s going on. THR says the film’s production company is all set to roll with both Cho and Penn’s deals completed, but the White House spokesman (via ABC News) said that Penn is "honored to serve in this Administration and has no announcements to make about his tenure here at this point.” Then there’s Penn who had this to say, “I’m incredibly honored to be here and to serve in the capacity I’m serving in and I hope that the folks who are making those films respect my decision to take a sabbatical.”

So where does this leave us? Who knows for sure? If I had to guess, I’d say it won’t be long until Penn trades in his suit and tie for a bong.

We’ve known a new Harold & Kumar movie was coming for awhile now, but the big question hanging over A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas was whether they’d be able to get Kal Penn involved since, Kal (who plays Kumar) quit acting about a year ago to work for Obama at the Whitehouse. Even though Penn’s best known for playing a lovable stoner, the guy actually doesn’t smoke weed at all and he’s really more into politics than tasty, tiny burgers. Well, he was for a year anyway.

Now he’s going back to the world of irresponsible drug use on screen. Deadline confirms that he’s leaving his position as the Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement to co-star with John Cho in A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas. Warner Bros. is considering releasing it in 3D (I’m on board with this only if Neil Patrick Harris shows up with another unicorn hallucination) and plan to start shooting this summer for an R-rated holiday release in 2011 or 2012.

The modern day Cheech and Chong are getting back together for a little holiday revelry, Christmas spirit and rampant bong hits under the mistletoe. In an interview with Collider.com, John Cho spoke about the reality of a new installment to the Harold and Kumar franchise, A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas. The upcoming movie would have a holiday theme, take place a few years later, and involve the pair of misfits doing whatever it is stoners do for the celebratory season. Smoke out of ornaments perhaps? Some of the logistics are still up in the air, like Kal Penn’s availability, but the movie looks like it’s going to happen.

For as silly as the Harold and Kumar movies are, they each have a dose of commentary within them. While they were searching for White Castle, the two were really trying to carve out their own niche in the world without being downtrodden by the man. When they headed off to Guantanamo Bay we really got a speech on, *gasp*, racism and politics. This one will hopefully be a commentary on all the nonsense and rigmarole involved with an increasingly ridiculous American holiday season. And yes, not to fear, Neil Patrick Harris will be back for some more.

Sidenote: I didn’t know this, but while I was searching for a good marijuana slang term to use, I came across “Christmas tree.” How often do you think that reference will come up in the movie?

Kal Penn, best known as the Kumar half of the stoner duo Harold & Kumar recently joined the Obama administration. No he’s not their drug czar. In fact, Penn has always been rather adamant that in real life he’s not a pot smoker and never has been. The guy’s as straight an arrow as there is.

You’d think that Kumar’s involvement in Whitehouse politics would spell the end of the always fun Harold & Kumar franchise, but maybe not. There’s been talk of a third movie since even before the second movie debuted and now the boys at JoBlo have uncovered an announcement from Warner Bros, in which they’ve set a release date for Harold & Kumar 3. It’s called A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas, and they’re releasing it November 5, 2010.

I find it really hard to believe they’ll actually be able to get Penn to do this. There’s no way the Whitehouse would ever allow it, would they? Yet I also find it hard to believe that someone would actually try to do a Harold & Kumar movie without Kumar. Will they recast? Will it be some sort of prequel featuring younger actors playing the characters? Yeah, that worked really well for Dumb & Dumber didn’t it? Let’s hope they’re smarter than that.