American actor, Kalpen Suresh Modi, known for his role as Lawrence Kutner on the television show House, and for his portraying of Kumar Patel in the film series Harold & Kumar, is currently in Costa Rica.

Known for his stage name Kal Penn, the actor, who also served as an Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement during the Obama administration, has been in Costa Rica since May 10, he visited the Teor/ética Foundation in Barrio Amón in San José where he enjoyed the exhibit Vamos a Besarnos, which touches on the history of activism and discussion regarding sexual diversity in Costa Rica.

“I came to visit some friends and they told me about this place (Teorética), and I was very impressed. The exhibit has been very moving, I will take a little of the history of the diversity movement in Costa Rica with me, which is something I didn’t plan. It’s impressive”, he said to Costa Rica’s daily La Nación.

Currently, Penn plays the role of Seth Wright, the White House’s Press Secretary in ABC’s series Designated Survivor, which can be enjoyed in Costa Rica in the streaming platform Netflix.

Penn who was born in New Jersey to Indian immigrant parents, was insulted by someone in Instagram telling him he didn’t belong in America, this happened during the discussion regarding immigration and travel bans by Trump’s administration; the actor turned this around and created the crowdrise page “Donating to Syrian Refugees in the name of the dude who said I don’t belong in America,” and stated “We are better than the hateful people who tell us we don’t belong in our own country, that America can’t be a beacon of freedom and hope for refugees from around the world. We will turn their bigoltry, along with the President’s, into love”. The initiative has raised $866,020.00