Kal Penn (aka Kumar) To Leave White House to Return to Hollywood?

When Kal Penn asked that his character on the popular FOX series "House" be killed off so he could join the Obama White House, Hollywood gossips and D.C. pundits wondered how long the actor would last in Washington. If reports Friday are true, the answer appears to be about a year.

Penn, the president's associate director of public engagement, is returning to his acting career, a representative for the actor told Entertainment Weekly.

The report was news to the White House, however. A spokesman told The Chicago Sun-Times that Penn "has no announcements to make about his tenure here at this point."

Penn will star in the second "Harold & Kumar" sequel that begins filming in June, according to EW.

Penn got his big break in "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle," the 2004 hit comedy about two stoners on a mission for munchies. The first sequel, "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay," was released in 2008.

During his time at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Penn worked in the Office of Public Liaison, the "front door of the White House." When he took the administration job, he said he wanted to focus on outreach, to help "take out all of the red tape that falls between the general public and the White House."