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Obama taps NRI actor Kal Penn for campaign promo at convention
US President Barack Obama has tapped Indian American actor Kal Penn to host a web-only promo ahead of his highly-anticipated acceptance speech at the Democratic convention in Charlotte on Thursday.
Kal Penn is the stage name of Kalpen Suresh Modi, the 35-year-old actor who is known for his roles in the “Harold and Kumar” comedy films. A close supporter of Obama since his 2008 presidential campaign, Penn took a two-year break when Obama appointed him to serve in the White House Office of Public Engagement.
For the convention promo, Penn will be interviewing celebrities, campaign officials and guests. The web special that he will host on the Democratic convention site will include interviews with Marc Anthony, Elizabeth Banks, Aisha Tyler, Olivia Wilde, Fran Drescher, Zach Braff and Alexis Bledel, the Obama campaign said.
In an interesting build-up to the show, the campaign has put out a web ad showing President Obama making a phone call to Penn, asking him to “get this right”.
“Hey this is Barack. Listen, I need to know if you’re on board,” says Obama. “I’m counting on you. Everybody is. We have to get this right. So there’s a lot at stake. Just remember that I’m trusting you on this and I’ll see you there.”t is only at that point the viewers get to know the person the president is talking to. It’s Penn, sitting in front of a television set with fellow actor John Cho.
“Dude, who was that? That sounded intense,” says Cho. “The president,” replies Penn matter-of-factly, and the two burst into laughter.
US President Barack Obama has tapped Indian American actor Kal Penn to host a web-only promo ahead of his highly-anticipated acceptance speech at the Democratic convention in Charlotte on Thursday.
Kal Penn is the stage name of Kalpen Suresh Modi, the 35-year-old actor who is known for his roles in the “Harold and Kumar” comedy films. A close supporter of Obama since his 2008 presidential campaign, Penn took a two-year break when Obama appointed him to serve in the White House Office of Public Engagement.
For the convention promo, Penn will be interviewing celebrities, campaign officials and guests. The web special that he will host on the Democratic convention site will include interviews with Marc Anthony, Elizabeth Banks, Aisha Tyler, Olivia Wilde, Fran Drescher, Zach Braff and Alexis Bledel, the Obama campaign said.
In an interesting build-up to the show, the campaign has put out a web ad showing President Obama making a phone call to Penn, asking him to “get this right”.
“Hey this is Barack. Listen, I need to know if you’re on board,” says Obama. “I’m counting on you. Everybody is. We have to get this right. So there’s a lot at stake. Just remember that I’m trusting you on this and I’ll see you there.”t is only at that point the viewers get to know the person the president is talking to. It’s Penn, sitting in front of a television set with fellow actor John Cho.
“Dude, who was that? That sounded intense,” says Cho. “The president,” replies Penn matter-of-factly, and the two burst into laughter.
