© 2010 FOX Broadcasting Co.

Here’s a quick bit of an interview that Michael Ausiello did with House star Hugh Laurie at the Emmy Awards Sunday evening:

Question: Where is the Hugh Laurie interview you promised us from the Emmys?! House fans are an impatient lot! —Gillian

Ausiello: First off, simmer yourself. I’ve had a lot on my plate the past few days, if you hadn’t noticed. Second, the interview is RIGHT. HERE.

Ausiello: So they’re finally going there with Huddy.

HUGH LAURIE: It seems that way.

Ausiello: Scared?

LAURIE: I’m scared for him. Terrified. But so far so good. Baby steps.

Ausiello: Are you happy they finally took the plunge?

LAURIE: I care less about what happens than how it happens. And if you do it right, it will work. And if we don’t do it right, nothing works. But I think we’ve danced around the idea long enough, it was time to take some action.

Ausiello: Is it safe to say that if it doesn’t work with Huddy it won’t work with anyone?

LAURIE: That’s a possibility. He might be fatally flawed. [Source: EW]

On Sunday night, Hugh Laurie was overlooked yet again for an Emmy Award for his role on House. I’m so sick of the Emmy selection committee slighting him that I don’t even want to get started again with another comment about it this year. However, while he was on the red carpet at the Emmys, he stopped to chat with Ryan Seacrest about House and about his new movie The Oranges. Of course, he was witty and adorable as always:

First of all, I’m sorry for the lag time since my last real post! I’ve been sick and the last thing I felt like doing was sit at a computer…

That being said, there’s a lot to catch up on today! First, here’s a great clip of Jennifer Morrison as a guest on the Wendy Williams Show. She talked a bit about how she was told she would be leaving House, about her “spicy” boyfriend Amaury Nolasco, the dress he designed for her to wear to the Golden Globes this year and about her new Broadway play, The Miracle Worker.

[Photo: © 2010 FOX Broadcasting Co.]

Many thanks to Silvia for the tip about this new interview with House star Hugh Laurie! The British publication Times Online just published a new interview with the man who plays our favorite grumpy doctor. It’s written in a distinctively British style that is so appropriate and fun to read. Here’s a very short excerpt:

Now in its sixth season, House, the medical mystery in which Laurie plays the caustic, misanthropic, witty, cane-brandishing, Vicodin-addicted, Sherlock Holmes-modelled Dr Gregory House, is the most watched drama series on the planet.

Yet, as I look at him, slumped in a wicker chair on the patio of the Chateau Marmont hotel, on Sunset Boulevard, it does seem hard to fathom. Of all the people here this afternoon, including Tom Cruise’s wife, Katie Holmes, who is in the lobby, you would immediately tag Laurie as quite the least at home in such a quintessentially Hollywood setting. More famous than all of them put together, he could hardly look less chic, wearing what I’m sure is the same outfit he has favoured for years: a dark-blue, yellow-tipped polo shirt, black jeans and blue Nikes, his hair tousled, a rough beard, a handsome, appealing face that is starting to show the cares and creases of his 50 years. Through it all peer his sharp, quizzical blue eyes. [Source: Times Online]

In the interview, Hugh tells that he doesn’t travel to the UK nearly as much now that his kids are all grown. They are all in different places, so it would be tough to see them all at once anyway. And, he says, his wife Jo is with him in LA more of the time these days so he’s happier there now.

Hugh talked a lot about what it’s like to play Dr. House and his thoughts about the character. But the most surprising thing in the article is that he says he may actually stay in LA after the show ends. That’s a big shift from the earlier reports of how miserable he was in LA.

I’m glad that he’s happier these days but I hope the show goes on for many more years!

[Photo: © 2010 FOX Broadcasting Co.]

Yesterday was a very exciting day for me. I got a chance to participate in a conference call interview with House star Lisa Edelstein.

She was as upbeat, funny and friendly as she was the last time I got to talk to her. She really seems like a bubbly person. Of course, the main topic for discussion was the upcoming episode that focuses heavily on the Cuddy character. But she also talked a bit about Jennifer Morrison leaving the cast and about the House/Cuddy/Lucas relationship. I think you’ll enjoy this interview, no matter where your loyalties on the show lie.

Q: I’m just wondering if you think Cuddy is the “risotto” of all roles, in that it leaves you totally satisfied.

L. Edelstein: Definitely for now. I’m a bit fickle. So, I think a good seven years of satisfaction will lead me to the next phase.

Q: What do you hope that people glean from this episode, aside from Cuddy has a lot on her plate on any given day? What do you hope their take away is as far as your character that they might not have picked up on over the past years?

L. Edelstein: Well, there’s a lot of things I like about the episode in addition to the fact that you get a real glimpse into what it means to run a hospital. Because sometimes you see complaints that people don’t think that Cuddy’s very good at her job. I don’t really think they know what her job is. Now you get a really clearer view of that.

I like the difference between her relationship with Lucas and her relationship with House. I think on one hand you see this kind of uncomplicated ease with this guy who’s just showing up. He shows up. He actually does his best and shows up and wants to be there versus the guy that she had this long, deep, fascinating, back-and-forth with that she can’t seem to steer clear of and what he actually means in her world, how he affects her world. So, I think there’s a lot of levels to it.

Q: The episode hints at the occasional disconnect with Lucas. Do you think if she does end up bailing on that romance it’ll be to go to House or just to not be with Lucas?

Read the rest of this entry »

[Photo: © 2010 FOX Broadcasting Co.]

TV Guide has a great new interview with Michael Weston who plays Lucas on House. Lucas is the private investigator that Cuddy is dating at the moment. I love what he has to say about the “three-way” nature of the relationship on the show. His comments about how people feel about it is even cuter!

He mentions an upcoming steamy, nude scene with Cuddy which should make all the Huddy fans upset. But, of course, the season isn’t over yet… Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

TVGuide.com: What can we expect with the House-Cuddy-Lucas love triangle?

Weston: I have a feeling that House and Lucas have a lot more adventures together. I think Cuddy has a thing for House, and Lucas sort of has a thing for House — in terms of his friendship. They get along like buddies, and they’re both intrigued by the others’ profession. And they both can use each other, which they do. It’s almost like it’s a love triangle with this ever-present third party. It’s an intellectual ménage à trois. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: How about Cuddy and Lucas? What attracts them to each other?

Weston: I think it’s because they’re complete opposites. For Lucas, she is an intriguing woman that offered a domesticity that he probably never envisioned for himself, especially now that Cuddy has a kid. I think for her, Lucas is young, blunt and honest, but not deceptive. Lucas will speak his mind before he’s figured out what he’s going to say, and he’s a terrible liar. It’s sort of the opposite of House, who is so calculated. I think Cuddy loves House, and yet feels that their relationship would be doomed from Day One. So maybe she found the antithesis of House in Lucas, who is honest and he really likes her.

TVGuide.com: A lot of fans aren’t too keen that Lucas has put a road block in a possible “Huddy” romance.

Weston: I have a feeling we’re the most hated out of the House couples. I actually was getting a coffee at my nearby coffee shop, and someone there says to me, “Huddy, man — you’re messing up Huddy.” And he was totally serious, like looking right into my eyes as though I had just broken up with his sister. I’m was like, “Sorry, I really wanted that to work out.” [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Rumor has you and Lisa have a steamy scene together coming up.

Weston: Yeah, the Cuddy-Lucas affair gets steamier. Those are always moments that are awkward [for actors]. You’re still getting to know each other and there’s like five dudes holding equipment, looking at you thinking, “What’s up? Yeah, I see you there naked. That’s cool.”

TVGuide.com: If you didn’t play Lucas and were just a fan, who would you say Cuddy should be with?

Weston: I can’t imagine her not being with House at some point in the evolution of the series — assuming House could get it together and become a full human being. I can see Lucas and Cuddy being together for a long time as well if they grow into each other, because as it is right now, they’re learning to get along and open up with one another. I think for Lisa’s character, she finds it difficult not being the boss and in charge, and being at work all the time. She sort of busies herself to avoid emotional vulnerability. That’s where Lucas is important to her character. He brings a vulnerability and openness that can’t really exist in that hospital because House won’t allow it.

Be sure to go check out the entire article.

[Photo: © 2009 FOX Broadcasting Co., all rights reserved]

I finally got the chance to get this transcript of the Robert Sean Leonard interview posted. He’s a very casual, interesting man. Each person that came on the line in the conference call was actually questioned by RSL and then he would make fun little jokes and comments about their location or their publication. It made me wonder if it was a way to deflect the attention away from himself.

He seems to be a very seriously devoted family man with a love of theater and he is also what might be considered shy. In that way, he seems like the perfect match for Hugh Laurie. They are both rather shy and unassuming when asked about themselves. They are both quite self-deprecating in interviews. I think that’s fascinating. They were the perfect two to be cast as best friends.

Here’s the conversation that RSL had with everyone on Tuesday and I hope you enjoy it:

Q: Congratulations on your self-titled episode.

Robert Sean Leonard: Oh, no, it’s my worst nightmare. Are you kidding? When I read this pilot, I was going to—the other pilot I was considering was Numbers, when I first got out here five years ago, and I read Numbers and thought, well this is way too many scenes. Its way too hard, and I’m not interested. And then I read House, and the guy was, Wilson was in about three scenes a show, and I thought this is perfect. You know, I’m the Carlton the Doorman of my show. I’m not the most ambitious guy. I like playing the best friend. It’s good to be the lead of a show for a week, but I wouldn’t spread it all around too much. I like my role the way it is.

Q: Well tell us how Wilson is different in this episode, and why.

Robert: Well, he’s not different; he’s just examined more. You see my assistant you’ve never met. You see the oncology floor, you see where I work. My office next to House’s is just my office, so there’s a whole floor where I work in oncology. I have my own patients, my own assistant, my own day that doesn’t include House, so you basically follow Wilson around for a few days and see what his life is like.

Q: And this case hits home for him?

Read the rest of this entry »

[Photo: ©2010 FOX Broadcasting Co.]

I finally got the entire conference call interview with House star Lisa Edelstein ready for you. As you’ll see when you read it, she was as funny and lively as ever, but had to be a bit guarded about the storylines and the Huddy relationship in general.

I was both thrilled and surprised to get to ask my questions first. (You all had such great questions!! Thanks!!) I actually cheated, since they told us we were only allowed one or two questions. But thenkfully, they didn’t scold me, since I tried to frame it that some questions were from you readers and one was from me.

I hope you enjoy it:

L. DeVries: I did something kind of fun and I posted the question for my readers, asking them to let me know what they wanted you to tell them the most. The number one thing my readers want to know is about the House and Cuddy hookup scene. They want to know what it was like to film a sex scene with a long-time colleague and they also want to know if he was a good kisser.

Lisa Edelstein: [laughs] It was great. I wouldn’t complain.

L. DeVries: How many takes did you have to do to get it right?

L. Edelstein: We did probably about five takes. Yes, probably about five takes. We didn’t really do it for that long, but it was more a question of making sure the cameras wanted to capture a lot of different things. But you know, I have a great friendship with Hugh and he’s super sexy, so who could complain about kissing him?

L. DeVries: Really. Rough duty.

L. Edelstein: Yes. Exactly.

L. DeVries: Now here’s a personal question I want to know. How much of Cuddy is a result of the writing and directing and how much of the character is your creation?

L. Edelstein: I think initially it’s, of course, just the writers and then eventually you sink into the character, aspects of your personality that suit the character start to shine and the writers become inspired by the Cuddy that you portray. That takes over the Cuddy that they originally have in their minds, so it’s really a marriage of the two.

L. DeVries: You have a huge fan base and they’re all begging for you to get involved in Twitter. Do you think you will?

L. Edelstein: No. [laughs]

L. DeVries: Oh, darn.

L. Edelstein: I don’t understand Twitter at all.

M. Mitovitch [TV Guide]: So, was the sex good?

L. Edelstein: Apparently.

M. Mitovitch: As evidenced by…?

L. Edelstein: As evidenced by, well, you’re not going to see me get naked or anything, but it was a pretty hot scene.

M. Mitovitch: And then what can you tell about the season finale as far as the Carl Reiner character? How does Cuddy get involved in that story line? She kind of like forces House to, I don’t know, hang out with this guy. What’s the story there?

L. Edelstein: Yes. I think she thinks it will be an amusing thing to push this guy on House. It was great fun working with Carl Reiner, by the way. How exciting. He’s legendary. We had a lot of fun. The story line is great and touching and I think he does a wonderful job, although I haven’t seen anything. I’ve just seen what I experienced with him in the room.

C. Borzillo-Vrenna [E! On-line]: So there are lots of good rumors out there about what’s going to happen with Cuddy next. I think the latest thing we’ve heard was that you might end up pregnant with twins.

L. Edelstein: Oh, really?

C. Borzillo-Vrenna: What do you make of that? Is that close to the truth? What can you say?

L. Edelstein: I guess I can start eating spaghetti again. I haven’t the faintest idea. I have not heard anything to that effect.

C. Borzillo-Vrenna: What would you like to see happen though?

L. Edelstein: I don’t know that Cuddy should be wandering around the hospital carrying twins. I’m not sure that that’s really the House that everyone knows as a show, but it’s pretty funny that that’s the rumor.

I. Rudolph [TV Guide Magazine]: Can Cuddy and House be more than a passing comfort to each other? I mean why is a smart, accomplished woman so ga-ga over such a messed up misanthrope? I guess that’s two questions.

L. Edelstein: I don’t think it’s a passing thing. I think it’s been going on for a long time whether or not they’ve acted out on it. I don’t necessarily think it will ever be a satisfying relationship in terms of both of them kind of settling in and saying this is what we’re doing, but she has a complicated relationship with men it seems. She likes the screwed up ones. I totally relate.

I. Rudolph: What will having sex finally do to the relationship?

L. Edelstein: [laughs] Well, you’ll have to find out.

I. Rudolph: Will we find out anything in the finale?

L. Edelstein: Yes.

I. Rudolph: About how it’s changed?

L. Edelstein: Yes.

J. Halterman [ProgressivePulse.com]: What was your reaction when Kal Penn announced he was leaving and the way they wrote out his character? How did you feel about all of that?

L. Edelstein: We were all taken by surprise. They really kept it under wraps until the actual episode came out. From then on in, for the rest of the season, they were top secret scripts. We were given one copy of the script, the daily sides that we got; you know, you have these sides that are just the scenes for the day that you’re shooting. Usually they’re kind of floating around the stage and you grab them and you lose them and you grab another pair and you lose them, but this time they all had our names on them. We had to return them at the end of the day. It was all very top secret, very hush-hush.

But I’m happy for Kal. I think it’s a really bold move. He has a passion for politics and certainly for the Obama administration. I think it’s an incredible thing. It’s very brave. It’s hard enough being an actor, let alone walking away from being a successful one.

Although, I have a feeling that if he wanted back in, his career would be waiting for him on the other side.

J. Halterman: What are you doing for your hiatus? Are you going to be doing some work with Best Friends in your time off?

L. Edelstein: I’m mostly traveling. We work ten months out of the year and so, having two months off, which, last year wasn’t really what happened because we were all on strike and it was very nerve wracking, so having two months to myself, if I’m not doing a film or something like that I just want to see the world. I just came back from Asia and now I’m going to go to New York and then to Europe and just kind of feel my freedom as much as possible.

D. Martindale [Hearst newspapers]: We’ve talked a few times, including the first time during the first season, only a few episodes in. You told me at that time that people who would meet you, people watching the show during that first season, they would accuse you of being mean to House.

L. Edelstein: Yes.

D. Martindale: Which I find fascinating, because it goes to show how people can perceive things in a skewed way, because House is the mean one. Always has been; always will be. My question is, are there still viewers out there who think that you’re the mean one to that nice Dr. House or have they figured that out?

L. Edelstein: The people that talk to me are usually the people that are really into the House/Cuddy dynamic. I think if they’re not into it they just leave me alone, so no, I don’t get that so much any more. I think part of it too is when you start a series the characters are all really broadly drawn. As the series goes on you get more specific and more nuanced in both, writing and performance because everybody is getting to know each other. So you get these kind of; what’s the word I’m looking for; there’s a word for it; I’ve completely blanked on the word, but you get these characters that are representative of I’m the arch enemy. I’m the good guy. I’m the pretty girl. Do you know what I mean?

It’s kind of uncomplicated when it begins and I think whether or not I was playing it that way, that was kind of the position that people put me in in their minds; the one that says no. She always yelled at him.

D. Martindale: I don’t think you ever twirled your mustache on the show …

L. Edelstein: [laughs] No. I definitely shave it off.

D. Martindale: There you go. But this season there were, I think, two episodes in particular where Cuddy was mean to House and then he was nice to her in response. That’s what made me think of it, because she can be mean, but even that was more layered than what you were talking about at the very beginning.

L. Edelstein: Yes. Their relationship is just, like I said, so much more nuanced now. It’s a beautiful, complicated, adult relationship between those two characters and neither person is one thing or another. They’re dynamic individuals and that’s what makes it such a spectacular show to be on, because that’s where all of the characters have gone.

B. Barnett [Blogcritics Magazine]: There is a promo, a promo still from this … that shows Cuddy holding House’s hand while he’s sitting or they’re both sitting on his sofa in, I think, the next episode. He seems like he’s in a lot of pain. Why is she there at his apartment at that moment? Can you give us any insight into that scene?

L. Edelstein: I can’t divulge. I can’t divulge. I don’t want to ruin it.

B. Barnett: We know Cuddy and House’s back story in very broad strokes. She knew who he was when she was a student at university. They had one night together that we learned, I think, back in season three. She hired him when no-one else would. Have you, either by yourself or in consultation with David and Katie and the writers, defined that back story any more? How do you think that they became so close?

L. Edelstein: Well, initially he was kind of legendary in the school she was an undergraduate in and she, I think, was maybe even a little bit obsessed with him and she ended up auditing a class that she knew he would be in. I think he was doing like a brush up class or something and she audited it to kind of check him out, because he was exactly the kind of lunatic she liked.

I relate to her taste in men. I definitely don’t have the best taste in men. I don’t know that intelligence and taste necessarily go hand-in-hand. I think what we’re attracted to in finding a partner is usually something that resolves some complicated piece of our past. For Cuddy it’s House and it always has been.

E. Hodgburg [Fancast.com]: I know you don’t really want to tell us much about how it happens, but can you tell us maybe how satisfying it will be for viewers after? Is there going to be any nice time together or basically are they going to go back to ignoring each other like they did after they kissed?

L. Edelstein: [laughs, acting cutely coy] I can’t tell you that.

E. Hodgburg: I thought I’d try.

L. Edelstein: I will say that episode 23 and 24 are really exciting episodes. I’m so excited to see them myself. We had great direction and the writing is really tight and it’s going to be a good one.

E. Hodgburg: Also … haven’t seen Cuddy’s daughter in a while. Is she going to be more in the story line …?

L. Edelstein: I don’t know. I never know what they have planned.

E. Hodgburg: What do you think about Cuddy’s wardrobe?

L. Edelstein: I love Cuddy’s wardrobe.

I tell you, I’ll never wear another pencil skirt again, but I do, I love the wardrobe. I think it’s sexy and chic and edgy for somebody in that position. I love what it says about her; that this is her realm. She lives her entire life in the hospital, so I think it’s great.

T. Rogers [TheDeadbolt.com]: With the upcoming “Under My Skin” episode, what are some of the hallucinations that House is fearing?

L. Edelstein: Well, we’ve already established that Amber is a big part of what’s happening. She, for some reason, has become the voice of his subconscious and she’s not going away.

T. Rogers: I also wanted to know what was it like working with Carl Reiner for the season finale.

L. Edelstein: It’s Carl Reiner. I mean that’s incredibly cool. He’s great. He’s 87 years old and that guy is showing up to work and doing his thing. He’s hilarious.

T. Rogers: Ton of stories?

L. Edelstein: Yes. I’d actually met him once before at a restaurant, sitting at a table with Mel Brooks. I had to go over and say hello, because I just love both of them. It was a really funny moment. It’s hard to describe on the phone, but it was great to see him again, great to work with him and actually have that kind of experience to talk about for the rest of my life.

T. Rogers: How long do you think it will be before we see a swine flu related episode?

L. Edelstein: Who knows? We’re not shooting right now. We’re finished. We have done pandemic episodes. We did an episode about meningitis where the whole hospital had to be quarantined. Remember that one? It was like season three or something, so we’ve already done that. That’s so ‘05. [laughs]

P. Buckley [TheTwoCents.com]: What is your favorite moment out of the two episodes that are coming up?

L. Edelstein: Well, certainly I’m not going to complain about the kissing scene. I haven’t seen them yet, so I can’t say, because I don’t know if I’m going to be embarrassed or happy. They were great episodes to shoot. I had a lot of fun and worked really hard. I can’t really tell you much without ruining it.

P. Buckley: For the rest of the season preceding these two episodes what was your favorite moment?

L. Edelstein: There are too many. I loved the episode. It’s another kiss, but I don’t mean to be hard up, like that’s the only time I get kissed, but I loved the way they got House and Cuddy together. I loved it. I loved that she was suffering so much and he was suffering so much and that’s what brought them together initially. I thought that was a beautiful moment of writing.

E. Wilkinson [Give Me My Remote]: I wanted to ask you about the other male character on the show that you kind of spar with, which is Robert Sean Leonard as Wilson. You’re sort of rivals for House’s attention and I was wondering how you play those scenes and how you approach that relationship, because it’s very unusual on TV.

L. Edelstein: It’s interesting that that’s how you perceive it. I don’t feel like they compete for his attention. I feel like they’ve got each other’s back. One kind of knows what the other one’s job is in relationship to manipulating House. They’re good friends. I think they’re really good friends.

E. Wilkinson: Were you sort of affected, the scene where I think Wilson a couple of episodes sort of puts his foot down and maybe it’s an overreaction, but sort of accuses your character’s motivations as being somewhat less than that? I was kind of wondering. That’s kind of where my questions came from … Whether or not you were there for him or whether or not you were sort of being selfish as a character.

L. Edelstein: I’m trying to remember what you’re referencing.

E. Wilkinson: I think it was in reference to you sort of using Wilson to facilitate House and sort of get him out of the way to deal with a problem as an administrator as opposed to a friend.

L. Edelstein: I think, like real, live, human relationships everything is complicated and sometimes we’re doing things for ourselves and sometimes we’re doing things for others. If you’re going to be that tight with two people, meaning her and Wilson and House, you do fall sometimes awry of being actually the most honest person in the world. I think he just calls her out on it, but I think that’s a sign of a healthy relationship more than anything else.

C. Cardoval [Blog.com]: I’m very interested in knowing how the rest of the staff reacts to Cuddy and House being together, because there are no secrets at Princeton-Plainsboro.

L. Edelstein: I think that the rest of the staff is pretty much waiting for them to get together. I don’t think it’s a secret. Sometimes when people have chemistry with each other it’s just so obvious. It’s not like he doesn’t talk about it.

He’s constantly referring to her body and her way and teasing her in front of everybody else. It’s like schoolyard banter. He might as well be chasing her and pulling her braids.

C. Cardoval: But there’s no jealousy between yourself and Cameron?

L. Edelstein: I don’t think Cameron feels jealous. I think Cameron, part of her sees the House/Cuddy relationship as the right thing and maybe a part of her will always have that crush on House, like we all carry a torch for somebody, but no. I think if anything Cuddy worries about Cameron.

J. Medino [Entertainment Weekly]: In this upcoming episode is there any chance that this is a twist? Will the Cuddy and House hookup be some sort of fake-out, a dream sequence or House is delusional or anything like that?

L. Edelstein: [laughs] Well, I mean there’s a chance for anything isn’t there?

J. Medino: There’s nothing specific that you can give me on that?

L. Edelstein: [teasing] No.

So now we just have a few hours to wait for the big episode to air. I’m more excited than for any episode so far this season. Wow!

What did you think of what Lisa had to say? Leave a comment to share your thoughts!

[Image: © 2010 FOX Broadcasting Co.]

K. Penn: [laughs] No, it was my grandparents actually and no, it was never preachy. These were stories they would tell you at the dinner table. I remember my grandmother telling me stories about boycotting some salt and cotton. You just think that every grandparent has stories and it was not until much later, probably in high school or college that you go back and say, “Wait a second. Grandma told me a story about this chapter in this history book? That’s insane.”

But, it was never preachy. It was never used to try and coerce us into doing anything and by the same token, when I shared that with Mike at Entertainment Weekly it certainly wasn’t to draw any sorts of big comparisons or to be ostentatious about anything. That was always on my mind growing up, almost second nature, knowing that it was those types of small public service actions that have made a difference. And so, if I can make some sort of a small difference, I’m certainly honored to do it.

Q: You mentioned earlier in the phone call that you talked to the President about the job. Can you just relay a little bit more expansively what that conversation was like and what he said to you?

K. Penn: Sure. We talked about it briefly during the Inauguration. I spoke at the Staff Ball backstage very briefly, had mentioned that I was looking to work for him and we sort of talked a little bit about what sorts of areas I might be able to hopefully serve in. There were no huge discussions at that point, but obviously there are a number of folks, like Tina Chen and Mike Strautmanis who deal with a lot of this stuff. So, I had some follow-up calls with them afterwards and also a number of friends who worked on the campaign to try and figure if in fact I would be a good fit and where.

Q: You mentioned a couple of times on the phone call that there were going to be some financial repercussions here. Can you be a little bit more explicit – how much you’re going to be making at the White House and how does that compare to what you’re making now?

K. Penn: Sure. I won’t talk numbers right now, but obviously going from a private career where you’re working for a big company to a public service career, there’s a huge pay cut. So, the concern with that, quite frankly, is I own a home. There’s a terrible housing market and my concern is the same as everyone else’s concern. If I’m moving to a different city, can I sublet my house? Can I sublet it for the same price that my mortgage is? Can I refinance? It’s the same thing that everyone else is going through – similar concerns. So, we’ll see. It’s not something that I’ve entirely figured out just yet to be perfectly honest.

Q: You haven’t figured out whether or not you’re going to sublet or refinance or sell?

K. Penn: No. This is all the kind of stuff I’m looking at. It seems like you can’t effectively do either of the three right now in the Los Angeles area because banks are not very keen on letting you refinance; the rental market because it decreased significantly. But also, you don’t want a house sitting there barren. We’ll figure it out.

Q: On behalf of Harold & Kumar, what’s your position on legalizing marijuana?

K. Penn: Oh, I don’t smoke weed in real life. So, it’s honestly not something I’ve given much thought to. Those movies are all very frivolous and fun to do. I remember somebody wrote some article when we shot the first one. When we shot the first movie, I was also a vegetarian. So, there was this mini uproar amongst stoner White Castle fans – “How can you hire a vegetarian who doesn’t even smoke weed to play this character in the movie?”

I know that it is a serious issue, especially in California – legalization of medical marijuana and questions about taxation and things like that. But sadly, that’s not my area of expertise at all and admittedly, I probably didn’t try and learn about it because I knew that people would ask me about it.

At this point in the interview, Katie Jacobs & David Shore, the executive producers for House joined the conference call. There’s much more info to come…keep reading! It gets more and more interesting. What a great opportunity for Kal Penn!!

Q: Kal, is there any chance that they’ll be having you do commercials or public service spots on behalf of the Administration?

K. Penn: I don’t know. That’s not something that we discussed. I would imagine that my role is not going to be any different than the other talented staffers who are already on that team. So, I would imagine not, but I don’t know for sure.

Q: Okay, and now for the producers, I assume this is going to resonate through the rest of the season, or how long will it resonate?

D. Shore: It’ll resonate at least through the end of this season. The impact on “House” and the rest of the doctors and the people that work there… is what we’re looking forward to exploring.

Q: Are you proud you were able to keep a secret in Hollywood as well as you did?

D. Shore: I’m absolutely startled, yes.

Q: It was a brilliant episode; just stunning. It’s no secret that in this climate, show producers are going to have to tighten their belts. Did Kal’s decision fit perfectly into that? Were you asked at all to bring the show in cheaper?

K. Jacobs: No. We were not asked to bring the show in cheaper. We have an immense amount of support from the studio and network with this show. These are purely creative and personal decisions and it’s just been fantastic the amount of support that we’ve gotten from the studio and network. I’m not saying we’re a cheap show, but you have to figure we’re pretty much on stage most of the time, not on location, but we have a tremendous amount of support. So, this had nothing to do with that.

Q: Now, there are clearly lots of shows violently killing off major beloved characters. I’m not even talking about Lost and 24, which almost kill for sport, but of course Edie on Housewives, Derek on Terminator. What does it bring creatively? I don’t know if you can speak in a more general way for lots of shows, but what does killing a beloved character like this bring creatively?

D. Shore: I don’t know I can speak generally at all. I know what it brought to us. I guess, obviously, stirring the pot brings something to any show. Kal came to us with his issues and his opportunities more specifically and we were very excited for him, but it created a creative problem for us. I’m very happy with the way it worked out. It gave us an opportunity to do something unexpected.

What’s fascinating about it is it’s a question that “House” can’t answer and he’s the man who has the answers to everything. It’s so unexpected for the “Kutner” character and that what was really exciting about it was the unexpected nature of it and the fact that there are no simple answers and not even complicated. I mean they were very complicated, but nothing that “House” can figure out and that’s what was very exciting to us and then, of course, just the very opportunity of dealing with the fallout for any human being, which is, I guess, the general answer because anytime somebody you’re close to dies, people react differently.

Q: Will you bring someone in to replace “Kutner”?

K. Jacobs: There is no replacement for “Kutner”.

D. Shore: Exactly.

Q: Are you going to leave it out there, the question of whether it was in fact a suicide, or is that going to be dropped from here on?

K. Jacobs: It was a suicide. It was a suicide.

Q: So, anybody out there super-analyzing the scene and looking for contradictory evidence, that’s just not going to go anywhere.

D. Shore: They’re being like “House”. They’re looking for more answers where they may not be more answers.

Q: Which individual would you say is going to be most impacted by the aftermath of “Kutner’s” death moving forward?

D. Shore: Everybody is going to be impacted. We are going to see perhaps surprisingly “Cameron” and “Chase’s” reaction to it. We’re going to see more of that. That doesn’t say that they’re going to have a greater reaction to it, but we are going to see more of that and, of course, “House’s” reaction and “Wilson’s” reaction and everybody’s reaction. It was important to us that we be as truthful with this as we possibly could and see how everybody react, but we are going to bring “Cameron” and “Chase” to the forefront a little bit.

K. Jacobs: Yes, I mean everybody feels the impact of such a significant loss and people process it and characters process it in different ways, I think that the greatest impact, correct me if I’m wrong, David, is ultimately with “House” because he is not at peace. He’s unable to rest with the idea that he did not see it coming and cannot explain it. So ultimately, I think it has the greatest impact on “House”.

D. Shore: Yes, he is the one who has the least ability to cope with it and as a result, it has the greatest affect on him.

K. Jacobs: Yes. He has no resources. He has no sort of family to go home to.

Q: I have kind of a chicken and egg question for you in terms of how far back you knew you were going to do this. It seems as if there hasn’t been much done with “Kutner” in quite a while, which allowed you to do this ending where we didn’t know much about him and it was ambiguous why he would have done it. Was this a case of you knew you were going to kill him off and therefore you wanted to put him to the sideline a little bit, or did you look back and realize, “We haven’t done a lot with “Kutner”. Therefore, we have the ability to do this”?

K. Jacobs: That’s not how we felt about it at all. We knew a while ago. David figured out how he wanted to envision this in December and I’m actually surprised. You might be right, but I feel like he’s been an important part– I mean in the very last episode, he solved the case. He solved the case a couple of episodes before that too. He was sort of riding a wave of success in “House’s” team. He had given Kal the go ahead to take credit for it, but I feel like we played him a lot recently. David?

D. Shore: Kal, are you feeling under utilized?

K. Penn: No.

D. Shore: [laughs] You’re free to say it now. You don’t have to kiss my ass any more.

K. Penn: I never felt under utilized. In fact, what I talked about earlier was one of the nice things about having had the chance to do a series that’s an ensemble is you’re constantly learning about your character. So, it’s constantly fresh. It’s fresh in learning about himself, but also learning about the way in which he reacts with the other cast members, the other characters. I think that was especially true in a couple of episodes where you see the banter between “Kutner” and “Taub” or “Thirteen” and “Kutner” talking about something or other that had nothing to do with medicine. Actually, I really enjoyed it. I don’t think I was under utilized at all.

Q: Well, maybe the way I should have phrased it then is that we saw quite a bit of “Kutner” professionally, but not personally to the degree that we’ve seen pretty much every other character this season.

D. Shore: I think it is true that had we seen some major dilemma in his personal life we could not have done this story the way we did because one of the integral elements of this story is that there are no easy answers available. If he married and have an affair, if he just broke up with a girlfriend– Even though the answer would have been much more complicated than that, that would have been something that somebody could just hang on to and feel that that was the answer and we didn’t want that there.

Q: You mentioned a couple of minutes ago about bringing “Cameron” and “Chase” to the fore a little bit. Can you talk a little bit more about that?

D. Shore: No. Again, as Katie said, the impact is mainly on “House”, but of the other people, we do see some fallout with “Cameron” and “Chase” in, I think, an interesting way. Again, I don’t want to spoil it.

Q: Well, it was worth a shot.

D. Shore: I can tell you that everybody has a slightly different reaction and it was important to us that we see varied reactions. Both “Cameron” and “Chase” do not have a unified reaction.

Q: Is there any sort of longer range plan for bringing a new member into the team?

D. Shore: I go with Katie’s answer, that “Kutner’s” irreplaceable.

Q: The “Kutner” memorial site that you put up on the FOX website, how long was that in the works and Kal, do you find it kind of creepy?

K. Jacobs: Do you, Kal?

K. Penn: No, not really. When I heard that it was going to happen, that was the first question I asked. I think what I said was just don’t put any of my real family photos on the website. Make sure they’re the ones from all the photo shoots that we did when we wrapped up episode 20. They said, “Of course. Obviously.”

It’s sad certainly. It’s sad because I loved playing the character and to see that the character is not around and took his own life, obviously, is incredibly disturbing, but I mean it’s very, very clear that’s it’s a “Lawrence Kutner” memorial page.

K. Jacobs: Our motivation came from that it felt like such a significant thing that we were doing that I didn’t want the audience in any way to feel that we took it casually, as if everything can go on the day after the same as it was the day before because we felt profoundly changed and I was thinking if the audience, the fans of the show felt that change, that they would want to know that we thought about it a lot beforehand and that we took it really seriously and that we would want them to have somewhere to turn to express any or all of their thoughts and emotions and feelings about the show and about what we did to the show.

But mostly, we’ve been working on it for a while. It came from the notion of letting our audience know that this was a big deal to us. And so, it felt like a big deal to them that we sort of have that in common.

D. Shore: Let me just add to that. This has nothing to do with the memorial per se, but it relates to what Katie was saying. This was a big deal. I wasn’t on at the beginning of the call when Kal was speaking, and Kal knows this and he’s expressed this same sentiment in reverse. This is not something that would have happened if not for these wonderful opportunities that Kal’s been presented with. We loved him. We loved working with him. Once this happened, we were not going to stand in his way. We were thrilled for him as human beings, but as executive producers we had second thoughts. We were thrilled for him and we found a way that I think is very exciting for us creatively, but it would not have happened if not for this great personal opportunity.

K. Jacobs: It was the only reason why I didn’t want Obama to be the candidate and then– no. I mean seriously, this has been on Kal’s mind for a long time and I remember saying to David, “Well, he hasn’t even won the primary yet. Well, he hasn’t even”– Do you know what I mean? Because I think I was in a state of denial. Just for the record, I obviously was the hugest Obama supporter that there had been, or one of them. I mean I was just trying to avoid the reality that we would actually have to face this moment.

Q: Actually, let me ask a follow-up question because it seems like you’ve been working towards a suicide storyline for a while. From my understanding, this is something that you’ve been planning for a while if not with this character. You’ve had your–

K. Jacobs: Only with this character.

D. Shore: It was only with this character. The plans are this. We were noodling stuff around. We knew that we might have to face this. And so, we had been noodling stuff around since the fall. It really came together concretely, I guess, very early December – right after the election basically, but we had the thoughts in mind and then we mapped out the end of the season at the beginning of December.

Q: You’ve been pulling a bit of a bait and switch though because you certainly made it seem like “Taub” was not in a good way.

K. Jacobs: Everybody has problems and different ways of dealing with it. “Taub” is struggling in his own way. But as I said, I think that’s more close to real life. It’s a little silly to think that we all don’t have our struggles on the inside. It’s how they manifest and how we deal with them.

Q: There’s a point in there where “Thirteen” says, I think, about 25% of people kill themselves with no sign of it at all. I assume from your research that’s a correct number. I just wanted to double check if that is the case.

D. Shore: Yes, that’s not a number we just pulled– Well, we don’t pull any numbers out of our hat. That is something that research supports. I know there is conflicting research, but it’s certainly a surprisingly significant number.

Q: Did you consider any other ways to have the character leave?

D. Shore: We considered many ways to have the character leave. Ultimately, as I said before, this has been the story that allowed us to really have the greatest impact on “House” in particular; have an impact on everybody, but in particular the man who craves answers not having an answer. That is what really excited us about this story.

Q: Okay, and although you said you’re happy for Kal, this obviously threw a wrench into your plans. You hear stories about producers sometimes deciding violent ways for characters to leave when they’re not pleased. Was there any of that?

K. Jacobs: No. We’re, I’m devastated. This phone call is making me more sad than I was the other day when I saw Kal.

D. Shore: If he had come to us and said, “I’ve been offered a great part on CSI,” then yes, we would have had him–

K. Penn: I’m actually going to do Grey’s Anatomy, David.

D. Shore: It would have been auto erotic asphyxiation or something like that. [laughing] No, we’re thrilled for Kal. This is something that as human beings you hear about this and you go– If anybody on our crew had come to us and said, “I need to leave because I’ve had this sort of opportunity,” we would have wished them well and been thrilled for them and gone back into our office and go, “What do we do now?” We would have been thrilled.

Q: Kal, actors/celebrities going into public service goes back as far as Shirley Temple, maybe even earlier. I noticed on the FOX website that there’s a lot of viewer comments, very positive for the most part, but there’s also a strain of cynicism amongst some of the comments; people saying, “Oh, another actor trying to be a celebrity, using a celebrity to go into public service.” How would you respond to that?

K. Penn: I mean I can certainly understand that sentiment, but I would respond to that by just being open about the fact that I’m not a democrat or a republican. I’ve been a registered independent for a number of years. I’ve made it very clear to the White House that I should not be given any special treatment. It’s a privilege to be asked to serve there and I’m looking forward to being just one member of an incredible team that already exists in the Office of Public Liaison. I’m going to be putting acting on hold and it was also made very clear to me that I was being hired because of qualifications that had nothing to do with being a “celebrity.”

So, I certainly understand any of the cynicism that comes along with that. Fortunately, in my particular case, none of the – and I even hate the word – celebrity aspects of this had anything to do with me going into public service.

Q: or when we had the Kal, you’re a funny guy. You’re the kind of person that people– You’re funny. When I see your face, you make me laugh. So, are you going to use humor much at all in your new job? Does humor have a place?

K. Penn: You mean I’m funny when smart writers write witty things for me to say.

Q: I guess.

K. Penn: I always pursue things with a sense of humor. I think it keeps things lively and active, but I also think that there’s a time for humor and there’s a time to be more serious and hopefully life brings a balance of both.

K. Jacobs: Actually, we’ve cut that part of his brain, the funny part of his brain out and we’re holding on to that here at House.

K. Penn: They actually have the right to hold that for I think it’s another four years. So, I can get it back after that.

Q: To the producers, I’ve worked in the newspapers for 20 years and newspapers/media in general are very, very cautious about reporting suicides of any kind because suicides often cause rashes. You’ve seen it in high schools and the native reserves and that kind of thing. I know you put some resources on the FOX website for people who are contemplating suicide, but are you concerned that you may have an incident in the future or that you may precipitate an incident at all involving suicide? Was it a risk that you consider worth taking?

K. Jacobs: I certainly hope that that’s not the case. The intention was to bring to light the fact that this can happen and at the end of the show, we ran a NAMI ad. If you are all contemplating suicide, there’s help out there for you and we placed a number. If anything, we were hoping quite the opposite, that we would have people who are feeling in a desperate way realize that they are not alone and that there’s help out there for them.

D. Shore: I concur. Thank you, Katie. We did not want to glamorize it. We wanted to show that there are alternatives, that you communicate, you reach out to your friends.

K. Jacobs: The other thing is that even if it’s not directly related to everybody, take a good look. If you feel like one of your friends or someone you know is in distress, again, there is somewhere for you to go. So, we were trying to be very responsible about it and very human about it. I think one of the things about mental illness that troubles people so much is that they feel that it’s stigmatized and that they can’t talk about it and they feel very alone. We want to convey that it is a medical illness, because it is, like any other medical illness and there is treatment. So, that was our hope.

Q: Just to be clear, there’s no evil twin brother doctor who’s likely to return in three or four seasons on House.

K. Jacobs: You come up with a great script for it, we’ll consider it.

Q: This is for David. I’m just wondering; will there be a major change in “House’s” character because of this?

D. Shore: Look, “House” says nobody changes and I sort of agree with them. This will prompt him to question some of the choices he makes and it will, perhaps, promote him to try and change. Whether he succeeds or not is a completely different question.

Q: This is for Kal too. I wanted to go back to the cynicism out there. I’ve had people saying, “Has he paid his taxes?” making cracks about Washington. Are you worried that the way the character died will overshadow your new job?

K. Penn: No, and I certainly hope that most of us out there recognize that there’s a big difference between fact and fiction and that the characters that an actor plays are very different than his or her real life. Superman flies and Anthony Hopkins eats people in Silence of the Lambs, but I think we’re all rational enough to know that those are both fictitious. By the same token, the same goes with television.

What I am hoping that folks recognize for all us, no matter what your political affiliation, the last couple of months have been incredibly exciting. It’s definitely a new day. I’m hoping to put that sort of cynicism behind and move forward collectively with something a little more positive. I have a feeling that the majority of folks are in that mindset as well.

Q: I was kind of curious; is “Kutner” going to be the cupid who is going to bring “House” and “Cuddy” together?

K. Jacobs: Another good idea. What do you think, David?

D. Shore: Yes. I think being dead might put a crimp in that, but no, not in the foreseeable future.

The serious answer is this, and what David saying earlier about how everybody reacts differently. I think you’re so right to say that certain people would take the impact of this horrible event and want to be closer and want to sort of couple up and be closer to people. But with “House,” it sends him in the opposite direction. So, no.

Q: Are there any plans to kind of explore more maybe any motive behind “Kutner’s” decision?

D. Shore: No. The issue is it’s unknown. I mean obviously, there ultimately is a reason. Something went on in that man’s head, but it went on in that man’s head and it is ultimately unknowable. I think that in our show is a more interesting question. The question of dealing with that and accepting that is a more interesting issue than trying to put a little pin in the answer.

K. Jacobs: It’s a struggle.

Q: Did you shoot any flashback scenes, or is that really the last time that we have seen “Kutner”?

D. Shore: We didn’t. We actually thought about that and we specifically rejected that because again, any flashback would have to be chosen for it telling us something. This story is about us knowing nothing. The answers are in his head and we can’t get there. And so, we ultimately decided that we should know what we know and not what “Kutner” knows. So, we decided that because this is so unfathomable, we shouldn’t see that.

K. Jacobs: It’s the way that it is. When you lose somebody, it is a shock and there’s such a mix of emotions. You feel sadness. You feel anger and I think the intensity of those emotions are made even greater by the fact that you cannot go back. Once someone is gone, they’re gone. David’s decision to make this happen at the beginning part of the episode and in a way that gave us no clues, I applaud because it’s devastating, but it’s how we feel when something like that happens. You’re just caught off guard. There are no answers and there is no going back. We wanted to put the audience in “House’s” and in our characters’ shoes and feel it in that kind of raw, unexplainable way.

D. Shore: Inexplicable?

K. Jacobs: [laughs] Either way.

Q: I wanted to know how much, if at all, your association with the National Alliance on Mental Illness influenced the choice of the story.

K. Jacobs: It did not influence the choice of the story at all. This is something that, as David said, has been ruminating in his brain and I always find he’s thinking about; David is thinking about ways of telling stories in his head and then on this writer’s retreat that we took in early December, the whole story sort of came out and poured out. Then it just seemed like a natural connection to reiterate our alliance with National Association on Mental Illness. So, the story comes first here and then we try to– Story comes first above all else and then we try to have everything fall in line to follow that.

Q: Was the decision to sort of align with the National Alliance on Mental Illness influenced at all by the story kicking around in your brain, David?

D. Shore: No, that alliance was in there for quite some time.

K. Jacobs: We made that alliance to NAMI years ago.

What do you think of the things they had to say? It was worth the long read, wasn’t it?

Read Part 1 of the interview

[Image: © 2010 FOX Broadcasting Co.]

Whew! Finally! Here’s the complete conference call interview with Kal Penn, Katie Jacobs and David Shore. It’s so much more than you got in all the other sites’ interview posts. The entire thing is 62 typewritten pages long! No kidding! I gave you some of the highlights already, but I know you want all the scoop, just like me!

So take a second to refill your beverage of choice and start reading the interview. It’s definitely worth it for House fans!!

Q: Now, I know that you had requested to leave the show to go work for the White House, which is awesome. I just wonder; were you taken aback at all when they said that they were going to kill you off I mean because it does rob you of the opportunity to ever return to the show. Were you taken aback at all?

K. Penn: I think everyone is always taken aback with every episode on that show to be perfectly honest. I know in this case they’re unique circumstances because the character is actually being eliminated. But I feel like House is one of those shows, at least from the actor’s perspective, when we get each script every week, we really don’t know what’s going to happen and that’s on a page-to-page basis partially because obviously the writers are so brilliant in creating and crafting these characters, but also the character of House, it’s virtually impossible to get into his head.

So, we’re sort of used to going page-to-page and going, “Wow. Is this actually going to happen?” and that goes for any episode. Obviously, yes, you’re connected to the character. I love playing “Kutner” and so, there’s a little bit of shock and loss- more than a little bit of shock and loss when I found that out also, but I think that’s sort of, plot-wise, what they were going for as well. So, yes, I was probably as shocked as the audience was when I first found out.

Q: Was there any discussion of you appearing in that final episode in any capacity?

K. Penn: I was there when Olivia and Omar shot that scene, where they discover “Kutner”.

Q: So, those were your legs?

K. Penn: They were.

Q: You got paid?

K. Penn: I did. Greg Yaitanes directed that episode [note: he also directed the episode, House's Head, another heart-wrenching episode] and, even though we were being shot from way back in the other room, he wanted it to be as authentic as possible. So, we were fully in that moment.

Q: I was just wondering if you could talk a little bit about your decision to leave the show and how long this has been in the works and if your managers and agents are telling you you’re crazy for walking away from such a successful show.

K. Penn: Well, I think I’ve had people tell me I’m crazy from the time I was 17 and said, “I want to be an actor.” So, that’s nothing new. I think every actor has been told they were crazy.

I mean it is a little insane in the sense that this is an incredible show to have been part of. There were certainly no problems. If anything, I was having a great time. I have a tremendous respect for the writers and the other actors and obviously, David and Katie. So, it was tough all around. The word that I still use to describe it is bittersweet because it’s not like I’m retiring from acting. I certainly intend to come back at some point. But right now, I just felt like my calling was in public service and so we moved forward with that.

Q: When do you start your new job?

K. Penn: It’s kind of up in the air right now. There are a couple of things that I need to finish up, but I’m going out to D.C., I think, next week to do some apartment hunting.

Q: Would the actor in you, the showman in you, the ego in you, have liked to have gotten a big showy performance and farewell death scene, or do you like the way it happened?

K. Penn: I like the way it happened. The thing that I enjoy about being an actor and the thing that I enjoy about the arts in general is the ability to make the audience feel an emotion that they weren’t intending to feel before they went in. I think that Greg who directed the episode, and obviously David and Katie, did that in such a great way that people did feel the types of loss and anger and confusion about this fictional character. I don’t know that you would have gotten that same sense if it were some sort of a very “Kutner”-heavy episode where you see the trials and tribulations. I think part of the loss that the team on House feels from what he did is transitioned over into what the audience feels because there was no explanation. I’m sort of glad that we didn’t have a big kind of “Kutner” dramatic scene to wrap it up.

Q: I’m quite sure there’s no way to document how many people will see the episode, read the information at the end of the show with the phone number, who to call if they’re in a suicidal condition and make the call and save their lives, but how does it feel for you as an actor and as a person to be able to do some work that puts that information out there in such a big way?

K. Penn: I’m really glad that the producers and FOX decided to put that on the end. I know all of us, unfortunately, know folks who have taken their own lives and you always go back and think about what you could have done differently. You realize that in a lot of cases, there wasn’t that awareness or there wasn’t that recognition of what to look for, how to look for it, how to reach out to somebody who you think might need that help.

So, I’m glad they mentioned it on the website and there are a number of resources online. I hope people do take advantage of them because I’m sure, sadly, out of the 18-plus million viewers that we have every week, I’m sure some folks might be struggling and I definitely hope they take advantage of websites like that.

Q: Well, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if somewhere along the way, years from now, weeks from now, somebody reaches out to you and says, “This happened because of that episode.” I hope so.

K. Penn: Well, that would be something good to come of it.

Q: It’s a big lifestyle change, particularly after the success you’ve had as an actor, to be coming to live in Washington. I’m kind of curious about your view of the place culturally; not arts particularly, but just living in this city and what that’s going to be like and how much you know about it.

[My] second question is who at the White House and in Washington did you talk to before making this decision? I don’t know if you talked to the President himself as part of this or the Chief of Staff. I’m kind of curious to see who you talked to and what convinced you to make this move. I know the public service part. So, I’m looking for the other aspect of it.

K. Penn: Sure. Well, let me address the first question first then. I grew up on the East Coast; I grew up in New Jersey and so, D.C. was always accessible to us during high school. We would come down frequently. My two interests, like I said, were public service and the arts. So, I would always take advantage of both New York and Washington. I have college friends and certainly friends from a number of the presidential campaigns who are in Washington, who have worked there for years. While I haven’t lived there before, I think I have a pretty good sense of what D.C.’s all about and I’m definitely looking forward to being part of it.

And so, to see that there was a candidate who was reaching out to those folks, kind of transcending those lines that you think of when you think of politics was incredibly moving, especially with regard to a lot of these kids who either couldn’t afford college or were in college and worried about student loans or the economy.

The types of change that President Obama had campaigned on and now the opportunity to bring those changes to fruition was something that was so incredibly moving that after he won and after having had the chance to talk about a potential opportunity with some of my fellow campaign staffers, the President, some of his aides, I reached out and said that this was something that I really wanted to do and I’m deeply honored and feel deeply privileged to have this opportunity now.

Q: Just to clarify; you did talk to the President about this?

K. Penn: Yes, ma’am.

Q: Did he say, “Hell, yes; come on down”?

K. Penn: Not in that language. We discussed it briefly. I was trying to find the right fit and to see if I would be helpful and to be of service somehow.

Q: I wanted to be a little clearer on what exactly the job is, why you want that job and who offered the job to you.

K. Penn: Sure. Well, the job itself is that I will be an Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Liaison. What the OPL does is similar in a sense to what I was doing on the campaign in that now that it is the actual Administration, what they try and do is take the Administration itself out of Washington.

Like I said, I’m not giving up acting; I’m not retiring, but since this seemed like the opportunity that presented itself and it seemed like something that I would enjoy doing and be honored to serve at, I figured it was something to do.

Q: Who offered you the job?

K. Penn: There was a bunch of discussions. I don’t know that there was any one point person. My point folks in the Office of Public Liaison are Mike Strautmanis, Valerie Jarrett.

Q: Does this mean no more Harold & Kumar movies?

K. Penn: That’s probably true, yes.

Q: You said you’re not retiring from acting. Does this job allow you to do any acting projects at all, or is this it for a specific amount of time?

K. Penn: I won’t be acting while I’m working at the White House, no.

Q: Do you know how long? Is there a certain amount of time that you’re going to do this for? Are you going to do it while Obama is in office, whether it’s for this four and possibly eight?

K. Penn: There’s no set limit. I mean I definitely intend to go out there for at least a year or two and figure it out. There are certain financial concerns to consider with all of it. There are career, both public service and arts-related, concerns to think about. So, we’ll see. The reason that I say I’m certainly not retiring is I’m not packing up and saying I’m leaving Hollywood and all this sort of stuff. It’s just pursuing another passion right now. I’m equally as passionate about the arts and will also continue to be. But right now, I wanted to pursue this sort of thing and we’ll see for how long and under what circumstances.

Q: Would you have made this decision and done it, do you think, if it had been any other president than Obama?

K. Penn: I don’t know. I certainly don’t think so. Like I said, this wasn’t the intention. This was not part of any master plan for the last couple of years. It was something that I was inspired by and someone I was inspired by. And again, formerly being a very cynical independent who agreed with both democrats and republicans on different things, it’s really refreshing to have a president who is listening to all three of those parties’ voices and I’m looking forward to this.

Q: I’m just curious about whether or not you’ll actually be traveling around the country to talk to people, or are you going to be staying most in Washington, D.C. during this time.

K. Penn: I would imagine it would be a little bit of both. The Office of Public Liaison is known as the front door to the White House. Like I said, one of the things that they do is to really take the Administration itself out of Washington; so, the ways in which communities are represented. Often times, they have folks who come to Washington to meet with the White House or with Congressional representatives or what have you. By the same token, we also do go into the communities and work with them directly as well. So, I would imagine it’s a fair amount of both.

Q: So, I understand your job to be the associate director, one of the things is kind of being the liaison between various communities and the President. I’m wondering; are there any communities that you particularly would like to reach out to to kind of help the President accomplish some of his missions? I know you had a conversation with him and I’m assuming that came up.

K. Penn: Yes. Well, two of the communities that I’m sort of going to be the point person for are the arts and Asian American folks. Part of that was during the campaign itself, I served on the Arts Policy Committee and a lot of the outreach we would do was to arts groups, students and under 35 voters and Asian Americans. So, two of those – the arts community and the Asian American community – are two of the groups who I’ll be reaching out to.

Part of the stimulus bill had a certain amount of funding for the arts and of course, the arts, especially in America, have always been extremely relevant to documenting history and providing educational opportunities. It’s something that I’m really looking forward to. It’s obviously a big shift from the last 12 years of my life, but it’s something I’m looking forward to.

Q: I know you said that you are an independent, but do you think you might switch over to being a democrat now? Has President Barack Obama swayed you at all?

K. Penn: I don’t know. Something that I really admire still is that in the White House, there are folks from both major parties and a couple of nutty independents like myself. So, we’ll see. I’m certainly not getting any pressure to change my political affiliation; let me put it that way. Everyone’s respectful.

Q: Do you know of other people in the entertainment industry; are there other people that you talked with before you decided to make this decision? Are there people who kind of share the same passion that you do of wanting to work in Obama’s White House?

K. Penn: That’s a good question. I think the folks who I shared it with; obviously, while it’s a decision based almost wholly on passion and something that I want to do with my life, you can’t ignore the other career-related aspects of it or the financial aspects of it or things like that. So, I obviously had a number of discussions with agents and managers and accountants and folks like that, as well as a number of friends who are in and outside of the industry to basically say, “This is what I really want to do, but am I crazy?”

The caveat being, of course, I kind of talked about this a little bit earlier; the caveat being I don’t think there’s any actor who I know who wasn’t told they were crazy when they were an aspiring actor moving out to California to follow some sort of a dream. And so, the way that I view it, it’s a journey. I’m certainly not trying to burn any bridges and say that I’m never coming back to acting because it remains a passion. By the same token, I’m incredibly honored and privileged to be able to serve in the Obama Administration.

Q: Do you have any plans to run for office yourself one day?

K. Penn: No.

Q: What did your parents, family, friends think when you told them about the career switch and when did you tell them?

K. Penn: I discussed it with them kind of off and on, I guess, maybe the last eight or nine months or so. I don’t think it came as a surprise to anyone because when I joined the Obama campaign I wasn’t as involved– I think I joined in October of 2007 and then slowly became more and more involved through the Iowa caucuses during the writer’s strike and ended up moving to Des Moines for, I think, that last month and a half before the January caucus. I think at that point, a lot of my friends and my family said, “Wait a second; what are you doing? Is this something that you’re getting caught up in? Is this something that you’re actually passionate about?” From that point, the discussion has always ensued.

The folks who know me the best always have known that those have been the dueling passions, shall we say – the arts and public service. So, I don’t think they were shocked at all, but it was certainly nice to bounce some ideas off of people about whether or not this was the best decision for me right now.

Q: This was already asked and you kind of gave, “I don’t think so;” but really no more Harold & Kumar? You couldn’t turn this into something?

K. Penn: I don’t know. I certainly don’t want to squash anyone’s hopes or dreams of that, but right now I’m going to be moving to Washington to take on this position. I’m certainly not going to be acting while I’m serving in the White House. Who’s to say what would happen three, four, five years from now. But at this point, it’s not on my radar, no.

Q: When you first met the President, did he mention he recognized you from any particular roles?

K. Penn: I’m trying to think. I think the first time I met him was late in 2007. Yes, he did mentioned House actually, but it was a passing comment. I had met him at a fundraiser, the rope handshaking line towards the end. I introduced myself and he said, “Oh, yes. You’re on that show. What show are you on?” I said, “I’m on House.” He was like, “That’s right, the doctor show. Nice work.” I said, “Thanks” and that was it. I didn’t really get to know him until later on during the campaign.

Q: Did he ever or any of the staffers ever joke about Harold & Kumar or drugs or any of that sort of thing?

K. Penn: No, no. This was probably one of the other reasons that I was so drawn to the campaign was the folks who were on staff even as early as pre-Iowa caucus back in 2007 were incredibly inclusive, incredibly respectful and also very driven by actual issues. I never had an experience where I thought anyone was distracted by anything other than getting people registered to vote, discussing issues with them, reporting those issues back. It was really quite remarkable to see how the whole operation was being conducted.

There was never any conversation about any of the more frivolous items from any of us who came from different fields. There were folks who were formerly musicians or sports folks or teachers or whatever. We just didn’t really talk much about that. It was very focused on the issues at hand, which was really nice. I had not had an experience like that before.

Q: I’m kind of curious; what did you think about suicide as a choice for “Kutner” to take after playing him all the time?

K. Penn: I was shocked by it, but I think that was the nature of what they were going for. When we discussed or when they told me about it, I asked if there was anything in his background that would have indicated or if there were any warning signs beforehand and the answer was generally no, that this is something that was just as shocking to the team as it is to the audience and it’s something that nobody sees coming.

It’s kind of tough to wrap your head around that, especially as the actor who plays the character, to know that he was obviously tormented about something, but didn’t share it with anyone. I think that’s indicated pretty well at the very end when “House” goes back into “Kutner’s” apartment and starts going through photos, searching for some sort of an answer and he sees pictures that we had never seen a side of “Kutner” before. We never knew that he had a girlfriend. We never knew that he hung out with his college friends at the beach regularly. That last picture that he pulls out right before the episode airs is of “Kutner” looking very different than we’ve ever seen him before. The look on his face is so completely different from him being kind of jovial in the hospital or even saving somebody’s life. It’s this distraught look that we just don’t have an answer to. He didn’t leave a note. He never discussed it with anyone. For the first time, “House” doesn’t have an answer to something.

So, it was disturbing to me as an actor, but recognizing that that was also kind of the journey that the audience would go through made it disturbing and also a little bit strange because I wasn’t allowed to talk about it with anybody. So, at least when the audience gets to see it, they can talk about it with their friends and watch it, but there was a lot of Peter Jacobson and Olivia Wilde and I going, “Isn’t this insane? Wow. This is so sad.”

Q: Well, were you sad that you didn’t get to portray that other part of him, of having a girlfriend and all that?

K. Penn: No, because I think you saw the different layers to all the characters. We rarely see, with the exception of “House” of course and a little bit with “Taub” and his wife, the characters – you don’t see them that much outside the hospital. Most of the plot ends are based there. Despite the fact that they’re all based around medicine, you know an incredible amount about these characters and a lot of their back story really informs their behavior and informs how they deal with patients.

So, I definitely don’t regret that because I don’t think it’s really that type of show. If anything, I think it accentuates the shock and the anger and depression that the rest of the team feels surrounding the way in which he passed away.

Q: Are you a little nervous about going from the set to going to a 9 to 5 desk job?

K. Penn: Not really. I’ve had experience in that field over the last couple of years. It’s something I’m actually looking forward to. I’m incredibly honored to have the opportunity to do it and we’ll take it from there.

Q: I want to congratulate you not only on the new job, but on having the best reason for leaving a show I’ve ever heard. I mean you get like creative differences, I want to do movies, but you have getting a job in the White House. So, I think you get some sort of prize for that.

K. Penn: Thanks.

Q: My question is just going back to the shock of the suicide and finding out, how many episodes did you shoot after you found out that this is how “Kutner” was going to end, but before the actual final episode? Did that affect your performance at all?

K. Penn: I think I found out while we were shooting episode 17. It was – I’m trying to think. I think it was episode 17 or maybe halfway through 18. It was probably halfway through 18 actually and no, the performance didn’t change. That was the first thing that I asked David Shore was, “Do you want me to change anything? Do you want this to be informed that he’s struggling with something?” The answer was, “Not really.” This is something that really does come out of left field in episode 20 and we don’t want to lead anyone on. We also don’t want to mislead anyone. It just is what it is and there’s no explanation for it.

Q: So, the audience shouldn’t go back to the last couple of episodes and try to look for a sad face somewhere or something like that?

K. Penn: No. I mean by all means watch the episodes again for enjoyment, but no, there was nothing hidden in there. There were no codes that we put in for people to decipher.

Q: I have to ask because I read the interview that you did with Entertainment Weekly where you mentioned that your parents marched with Gandhi. Did they pull that out growing up like all the time on you? When you were doing Harold & Kumar for instance, were they like, “Oh, yes. That’s great. We marched with Gandhi, but that’s cool too”?

Continue reading Part 2