His breakthrough movie was Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, the buddy film where the stoners ride a cheetah in New Jersey to get burgers. Penn’s parents came to the U.S. from India and the actor is a long-time vocal advocate for more diversity in Hollywood. Penn played a doctor on the TV series House and the son of Indian immigrants in the film The Namesake. When he took a break from acting, Penn campaigned for Barack Obama and served as Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. He’s written a memoir about his adventures in Hollywood and Washington called You Can’t Be Serious. We talk about making movies, politics and how real change happens.