| Kal Penn Builds On His Namesake - Page 2 |
| Written by Brad Balfour and Christina M. Hinke | ||||
| Tuesday, 03 April 2007 12:54 | ||||
Page 2 of 2
Q: Did you have any input into the movie? KP: I suggested strongly using Pearl Jam because I'm a huge Pearl Jam fan. I think kids of every race, gender and ethnicity at that age listen to Pearl Jam. I also figured if the movie is taking place in this time period he would probably be passionate about Pearl Jam. Pearl Jam won't let you use a song unless they've see the film. They own all of their licensing rights, which is rare for a band. We shot that scene twice [where Gogol rocks out to a Pearl Jam tune in his bedroom]. Thanks to Eddie Vedder and the guys they let us use the music.  The talented Kal Penn is moving beyond the realm of playing one-dimensional "ethnic" characters
Director Mira Nair on set of "The Namesake"
Jacinda Barrett and Kal Penn in a somewhat uncomfortable family meeting
Penn as Gogol is a real ladies man in "The Namesake"
Tabu and Irfan Khan as new immigrants in "The Namesake"
KP: I'd like to find any project that I can have legitimate creative input. I find that stories that dwell on ethnicity are rather boring for me acting-wise. It's pretty one dimensional. Q: Did you read Gogol's story "The Overcoat" prior to filming? KP: Not before because Gogol doesn't read any of Nikolai Gogol's stuff until the end of the film. I made an effort to resist the temptation to read it. Q: Did you ever have to restrain yourself from adding comedic elements to the character of Gogol? KP: I think it was really nice to be able to play a character like this, especially in contrast to all the other stuff. When you start to pursue acting, the goal, at least for me, was not to do a particular genre. If you're a young actor or a pretty boy from Iowa, you get on TV and if not you do comedies. I guess those are the youth opportunities that I think are out there, though I think it's nice to be able to expand beyond that. Q: Were there any insights you discovered about yourself? KP: I don't think from playing the character. The first time I read the book, which was a couple of years ago, it's the kind of book that makes you want to call your parents when you're done reading it. So that probably brought me closer to my parents. Q: Have your parents seen the film? KP: They enjoyed it. We haven't talked about specific scenes yet. But I think they enjoyed it. Q: Have they seen the "Van Wilder" movies? KP: Yes, they've seen all my stuff. I can say definitely that they were more proud of this than the "Van Wilder-esque" things. Q: What's going on with "Harold and Kumar 2"; is it still filming? KP: Yes, it's very similar in that it's a very low budget film just like the first one, really bare bones, not a lot of resources provided. You just kind of go out there and cram as much as you can in, in a day, which could be a good thing and a bad thing. A good thing in that the energy stays fresh, but a bad thing in the sense that if you screw up one take you don't have another chance to do it. But on the flip side, we're really excited to revisit those characters. Neil's (Patrick Harris) is coming back, Chris Meloni is coming back. Eddie Kaye Thomas and Dave Krumholtz and a bunch of new people... Q: You've doing a wide range of roles, especially on TV with parts on "24" and "Law and Order." Is that what you want to do more of in your career? KP: Yes. I would like to have the privilege of doing both, drama and comedy. Q: How about doing theater? KP: I'd like to do more theater. My theater background is limited to college and post-college. Q: Have you considered moving to New York to get theater work? KP: I would love to live in New York City, but there is no work if you want to do film. I spent the last year here to get in to the theater world. In order to do theater well you really have to spend a chunk of time and not do anything else. I would like to attempt to come back in a year or two and give it a try. |
