How I met my partner: Indian-origin Hollywood actor Kal Penn, who came out as gay, reveals how the two of them hit it off

Also, the actor’s new memoir You Can’t Be Serious hit the shelves on Tuesday
Kal Penn
Kal Penn

Indian-origin Hollywood actor Kal Penn, who is known for his role in the Harold & Kumar comedy series, recently came out and revealed that he is gay, and added that he is engaged to his partner of 11 years, Josh.

He also spoke to media sources about how the two of them met and what went into the creation of his newly-launched memoir You Can’t Be Serious.

He told media sources, “I was sure that I wanted to share two stories: one about my parents and their upbringing; and the story of how Josh and I met. He showed up with an 18-pack of Coors and turned my TV from SpongeBob to NASCAR. I thought, ‘This guy’s leaving here in 40 minutes with 16 beers.’ So the fact that we’re together 11 years later is funny because so many people have stories of dates that went awry but now they’re married and have kids (sic).”

Regarding his efforts for the creation of his book, Kal was quoted as saying, “There was a point three months into writing it when I felt the kind of self-loathing that I haven’t felt since middle school. I texted a bunch of my writer friends, and they all either said, ‘Yeah, buddy, welcome to being an author,’ or ‘Why do you think so many of us drink so much Scotch?’ Just a sea of those types of responses (sic).”

“Up until that point, I’d written fiction, essentially scripts and characters. It’s very different when you’re creating a character or a plotline: That’s not you, you can take a break from it. With this process, it’s, ‘Oh my God, there’s no escaping my own brain.’ I was not prepared for it (sic),” he added.

In a different interview, Kal made the revelation about his relationship and sexuality while promoting his memoir, which hit the shelves today (November 2). “Josh and I have been together for 11 years,” Kal was quoted as saying to media sources.

Explaining how he presented his sexuality in his memoir, Kal said, “We had our 11th anniversary in October. So, writing about it... it’s very matter-of-fact in our lives. And when you’re the son of Indian immigrants and say that you want to be an actor, the chaos that creates in your family and your community will trump anything else, always (sic).”

Kal also touched upon his introduction to acting and his time working with the Obama administration.

After moving to Los Angeles to work as an actor, Kal broke out with the 2004 comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle alongside his co-star John Cho. The film spawned two sequels and helped Kal bag other projects, including the 2006 drama Namesake and the House series.

Kal also took a break from acting to campaign for former US President Barack Obama. He went on to work within the administration in the office of public engagement, working to connect Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Penn met his fiancé during his time working in Washington, DC.

“I discovered my own sexuality relatively late in life compared to many other people,” Penn later told media sources. “There’s no timeline on this stuff. People figure their shit out at different times in their lives, so I’m glad I did when I did (sic),” he added.

Kal further continued, “I’ve always been very public (about my relationship) with everybody I’ve personally interacted with. I’m really excited to share our relationship with readers. But Josh, my partner, my parents, and my brother, four people who I’m closest to in the family, are fairly quiet. They don’t love attention and shy away from the limelight (sic).”

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