Kal Penn says final audition for ‘Van Wilder’ was between him and a ‘white dude in brown face’

Los Angeles, Jul 31 (PTI) Hollywood star Kal Penn says he was up against a “white dude in brown face” for the final audition of 2002’s “Van Wilder”, which featured “Deadpool & Wolverine” star Ryan Reynolds in the lead role.

The comedy was one of the early major roles for the Indian-American actor, who shot to fame with 2004’s “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle”, co-starring John Cho.

Penn, 47, praised Reynolds for being supportive during the audition process.

“Ryan was incredibly supportive during the audition process for ‘Van Wilder’… 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 told the Rolling Stone magazine in a 20th anniversary piece for “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle”.

During the filming of “Van Wilder”, Reynolds, also 47, had promised he would play the supporting role to Penn’s lead character and honoured his word with a cameo in “Harold & Kumar Go to White House”.

“The entire production (on ‘Van Wilder’) 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 Go to White Castle” follows roommates Harold Lee (Cho) and Kumar Patel (Penn) on their adventure to a White Castle restaurant after smoking marijuana.

Reynolds’ appearance got the indie comedy greenlit, said producer Nathan Kahane, adding they paid the actor USD 10,000 for his appearance.

“I remember calling Ryan’s agent and was like, ‘Is this happening?’ He told me Ryan was totally supportive because Ryan loves Kal. We paid him USD 10,000, and he was a beautiful man of his word. Ryan joining that cast got the movie greenlit,” Kahane added.

“How I Met Your Mother” star Neil Patrick Harris had a supporting role in the stoner comedy that has become a cult hit since its release in 2004. It also launched the career of Cho, who played Harold to Penn’s Kumar.

The success of “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle” spawned a franchise with “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay” (2008) and “A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas” (2011) as follow-ups.