Kal Penn is detailing how he was up against a “white dude in brown face” for his breakout “Van Wilder” role.
Penn told Rolling Stone in a 20th anniversary piece for 2004 film “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle” that a cameo from fellow “Van Wilder” alum Ryan Reynolds helped get “Harold & Kumar” made.
In fact, Reynolds also helped Penn land the “Van Wilder” role to begin with during the final callbacks. The college comedy stars Penn in a supporting role of an Indian exchange student.
“Ryan was incredibly supportive during the audition process for ‘Van Wilder,’” Penn said. “In the final callback, it was between me and a white dude in brown face for the part of an Indian exchange student. He said to me, ‘How do you feel about improv?’ So we improvised the scene, and he was obviously rooting for me to get the job.”
Penn continued, “The entire production was awesome. He told me once in passing, ‘When you get your first lead, let me know and I’ll play the supporting guy.’ When ‘Harold & Kumar’ happened and we were talking about cameos, I reached out to Ryan and he was immediately like, ‘Yes, absolutely.’”
“Harold & Kumar” required at least four high-profile cameos, one of which was Neil Patrick Harris’ supporting role. Reynolds also appears in a hospital scene.
Producer Nathan Kahane recalled how he was even shocked that Reynolds agreed to appear in the indie comedy.
“I remember calling Ryan’s agent and was like, ‘Is this happening?’ He told me Ryan was totally supportive because Ryan loves Kal,” Kahane said. “We paid him $10,000, and he was a beautiful man of his word. Ryan joining that cast got the movie greenlit.”
Penn’s “Van Wilder” role was also part of the marketing campaign for “Harold & Kumar,” despite the trailers being “all about race,” as Penn explained.
“I remember the trailers were all about race, and they should have been about friendship,” Penn said. “The first cut of it mentioned that this movie starred ‘the Asian guy from “American Pie” and that Indian guy from “Van Wilder.”‘ I said, ‘I would love for you to not refer to us with racial signifiers because the movie speaks for itself.’”
Penn continued, “They refused, and instead added the line, ‘From the white guy who directed “Dude, Where’s My Car?”‘ I mean, if you’re looking for a movie to laugh at with your friends on a Friday night, that’s not necessarily a calling card.”
