LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Actor Kal Penn has shared an uncomfortable and eye-opening story from the audition process for the 2002 comedy “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder,” the film that became his breakout role.
Penn, who played Taj Mahal Badalandabad in the movie, recalled the incident while speaking on the podcast “Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know.” He said the moment occurred at the very end of the audition process, when he learned he was competing against just one other actor for the part.
“I knew at the end, it was like, ‘All right, it’s me and another actor,’” Penn said. “I’m like, ‘Which brother is it?’ I’m excited that one of us is gonna get this.”
That excitement quickly turned into shock, he said, when he opened the door to the waiting room.
“I open the door and it is a white dude in brownface who’s already in the waiting room,” Penn recalled.
Penn said his frustration was not directed at the other actor personally, noting that desperation is common in the profession.
“My beef is generally not with other actors. Actors are desperate. We’ll do whatever it takes to get a part,” he said. “But I was so fascinated.”
He described a flood of thoughts running through his mind, including how and where the actor may have applied the makeup and what it meant in a broader social context.
“Did his agent tell him to paint his face when he left? Did he do it at home or did he do it in the bathroom?” Penn said. “If he did it at home, did it increase his chances of getting pulled over by the cops?”
Despite the awkwardness, Penn said he made small talk with the actor and even spent time with him afterward. Still, the experience fueled his determination to land the role.
“Telling it now, you’re like, ‘Oh my God, people did brownface,’” Penn said, adding that such practices, while viewed differently today, were common enough at the time. “I do remember looking at him while we’re making small talk and in my head just saying to myself, ‘He is not allowed to get that part.’”
Penn ultimately secured the role, which helped launch his career.
“National Lampoon’s Van Wilder,” directed by Walt Becker, starred Ryan Reynolds in the title role alongside Tara Reid, Tim Matheson, and Paul Gleason. The film follows Van Wilder, a charismatic and carefree college senior who prolongs his student life while serving as a party organizer and informal mentor on campus. (Source: IANS)
