Kumar has had his fill of White Castle burgers.
Kal Penn is best remembered for playing that half of a pot-smoking duo with the munchies in the 2004 movie “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.” But his new NBC comedy “Sunnyside” won’t have any subtle winks to the stoner film, in which he and co-star John Cho (“Star Trek”) take a road trip through New Jersey in search of burgers and “the American dream.”
During a post-screening Q&A for the show’s pilot episode Tuesday night at Astoria’s Museum of the Moving Image, Penn was asked whether the fast-food joint’s Sunnyside location would make an appearance in the sitcom, which chronicles the self-rehabilitation efforts of a downtrodden Queens politician played by Penn.
The actor shared that while the show is primarily filmed in LA, the cast and crew spent about one and a half days filming outdoor shots in the western Queens neighborhood where it’s set. During that time, director Osmany “Oz” Rodriguez — who has also steered some of the popular “Saturday Night Live” digital short segments — not-so-sneakily tried to shoot Penn in a street scene with the White Castle franchise at 43rd Street and Queens Boulevard looming in the background.
“He goes, ‘Hey, just cross the street here. I put a camera across the street,’” Penn said of Rodriguez’s plan. “And I’m thinking, ‘You know that I know that you’re trying to get a shot of me in front of the White Castle … Does he really think I don’t know?’”
But Penn played along, suggesting that ornate elements along the MTA’s 7 train line were what Rodriguez was after. “It’s like, ‘Oz, are you trying to get it in front of the subway? Those elevated tracks — the stained-glass windows are amazing,’” Penn says.
Alas, the jig was up. “He’s like, ‘No, I was kinda hoping … Can you just walk in front of the White Castle for me, please?’” Penn recalls.
He gave in and Rodriguez got his shot of Kumar strutting past the beloved bastion of burgers, but the scene wound up on the cutting room floor. (Blooper reel, anyone?) However, Penn appreciates his effort, as well as the ongoing devotion of “Harold & Kumar” fans, who can only reminisce about Kumar and his accountant bud Harold encountering numerous obstacles, including a crazed raccoon, a horny tow-truck driver and stripper-loving Neil Patrick Harris.
“I think we want to keep the worlds separate, but I love the love,” Penn says.
“Sunnyside” premieres at 9:30 p.m. Thursday on NBC.