House actor Kal Penn started work in the White House today, he took a break from Hollywood to serve in the administration of President Barack Obama.

“This is an incredibly historic time; I’m deeply honoured to be here and I hope to serve my country to the best of my ability,” the actor told reporters on a conference call.

In scenes not yet aired in UK, Kal’s character Dr Lawrence Kutner commits suicide, the storyline provided Penn with an out from the show.

Penn is the White House’s point person for Americans in the arts and the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities.

He said those groups were “incredibly involved” in US politics, “especially this last election cycle” and underlined that they were “not just relegated to just ethnic politics”.