John Cho and Kal Penn smoked their comedic competitors as Harold and Kumar. Now they’re back for another hit. Puff, puff, pass? Nah-puff, puff, puff...

By Gabriel Alvarez; Photographs by Piotr Sikora; Styling By Anoma Ya Whittaker

On the flipside, you must have fans offering you weed everywhere you go.

Kal Penn: People do offer you weed, but to me that’s not as odd as them offering you things like rides to places. You’re in some town visiting a friend-“Hey, do you need a place to crash?” I’m like, I don’t know you. I know that you feel like you know me... But they don’t realize that I don’t know them. They saw my movie and thought I was cool in the movie. And that’s kind of cool, right? But then it’s also a little bit creepy.
John Cho: Wow, you get offered places to crash?
Kal Penn: Yeah, they’re not very comfortable usually, though. They’re nice. I never stay in hotels. I always stay in college dormitories now.
John Cho: That explains his vast fortune.

When did the popularity of these characters really hit you?

John Cho: For years, Asian-American people would come up to me and say what’s up and that they enjoyed my stuff. But there was a moment when an Asian person came up to me and said, “Oh...big fan. It’s so good to see you representing stoners.” And for me, that was a great twist, that an Asian person would come up to me and draw the comparison between us, not in terms of ethnicity but in terms of recreational activity. It was an odd kind of breakthrough moment.
Kal Penn: I love that example. I’m a fan of anything that transcends the status quo. Harold and Kumar as characters probably transcend their ethnicities for audiences, and I definitely take pride in that.

Kal, you’re described on the Internet as “the world’s most famous Indian-American actor.” Does that trip you out?

Kal Penn: Well, we all know the Internet is horribly accurate.
John Cho: What’s weird is that they got that off one of his T-shirts.
Kal Penn: That’s how I refer to myself. When you call me, that’s what I say when I pick up the phone.
John Cho: It’s on his Costco ID.
Kal Penn: Look, I’m sure [the quote] was with the best of intentions, but no, I certainly don’t think that’s accurate, number one; and number two, I really don’t think we need to be describing people that way.

Is it a fine line between wanting to represent by portraying a strong Indian or Asian character and just playing a strong character regardless of ethnicity?

Kal Penn: Ultimately, I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive by any means. You want to play a character that’s a good character. I always think it’s kind of silly that we describe actors as this Asian actor or this Latin actor. But then at the same time, when [we] do play a role, whether it’s written that way or not, [the character is] Indian-American or Asian-American by virtue of what we look like. So then you’re suddenly mindful of, “Well, does the choice this character is making have anything to do with ethnicity? Is [the character] falling into a stereotype?” But I think sometimes when you focus too much on it, you lose focus from the character.
John Cho: It’s actually really tough. Sometimes I get caught up in how Asians will see my character just because I’ve always wanted to do right by them. But sometimes doing right by them means insulting my ethnicity. [Laughs.] You can’t go around choosing the most noble character all the time because it’s not a full portrayal. So at some point you have to shrug it off and do what you feel is right.

Since India is a part of Asia, what do Koreans and Indians have in common?

Kal Penn: I have absolutely no idea.
John Cho: [Thick Italian accent] We both-a love-a pizza!

John, does Kal ever give you a hard time for appearing on one of People Magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive lists?

Kal Penn: John is one of the sexiest men alive.
John Cho: We talk about it endlessly. He ribs me, this character here! [Pause.] I don’t know if we’ve ever discussed it. Seriously.

You guys get to make out with hot chicks in the movie.

John Cho: [Macho voice] It’s what I do. It’s not a big deal.

Is that really considered acting?

Kal Penn: It’s very difficult work, as I’m sure you can imagine.
John Cho: Umm...yeah, I guess so, because I’m gay and it’s like I don’t want to do it. So I guess it’s acting. [Ed. Note: John is joking. He’s not gay.]
Kal Penn: We had to take a Make Out With Hot Chicks class. It’s an acting class that you can take.
John Cho: At the Learning Annex. I took that with a real-estate seminar.
Kal Penn: Taught by Donald Trump.
John Cho: Yeah. Remember: Take advantage of low-income distressed housing. Home // CELEBRITIES // COVER STORY // John Cho and Kal Penn