After 20 years, a new generation is discovering the wacky trip that is Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle… including star John Cho‘s kids.
The actor said that his teenage son had a “pretty good takeaway” after seeing the stoner comedy for the first time as he and co-star Kal Penn recently celebrated the milestone 20th anniversary of the first entry in their trilogy.
“My 16-year-old apparently saw it,” Cho revealed this week on The Today Show. “I had to ferry the daughter out of the house, she’s not ready for it. But apparently he saw it, and his takeaway was, ‘So, you have met Ryan Reynolds?!’ It’s a pretty good takeaway. Not a bad thing.”
Cho’s interview comes after Penn and producer Nathan Kahane recounted how Reynolds’ cameo as a nurse “got the movie greenlit,” following Penn’s appearance in National Lampoon’s Van Wilder (2002).
“Ryan was incredibly supportive during the audition process for Van Wilder,” Penn told Rolling Stone. “In the final callback, it was between me and a white dude in brownface for the part of an Indian exchange student. He said to me, ‘How do you feel about improv?’ So we improvised the scene, and he was obviously rooting for me to get the job. The entire production was awesome. He told me once in passing, ‘When you get your first lead, let me know and I’ll play the supporting guy.’ When Harold & Kumar happened and we were talking about cameos, I reached out to Ryan and he was immediately like, ‘Yes, absolutely.’”
Kal Penn and John Cho in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004). (New Line/Courtesy Everett Collection)
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle follows the titular roommates, played by Cho and Penn, as they treat a case of the munchies with a late-night jaunt to the titular fast-food chain, but a series of chaotic events ensue along the way. The duo reunited for the sequel Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) and A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011).
Kahane told Rolling Stone they’re “having conversations right now” about a fourth installment, as Penn, Cho and co-writer Jon Hurwitz all expressed their willingness to return.
“Could be,” Cho told Today of the potential sequel. “I think it would be fun to do it. It’s a little bit of a very early 2000s movie in a lot of ways, but I’d love to see if we could.”
