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Designated Survivor actor Kal Penn has revealed that he is gay - announcing his engagement to his partner, Josh.

The Harold and Kumar star shared the story of his relationship in an interview with People magazine.

Penn, 44, details his relationship with his partner for 11 years and engagement as part of his upcoming book, You Can't Be Serious.

In You Can't Be Serious, Penn tells of the couple's first date during the time he worked at the White House.

The actor describes feeling shocked after Josh arrived at his apartment with an 18-pack of Coors Light and instantly turned the TV on for NASCAR.

"I thought, 'This obviously is not going to work out," he told People.

"I have one day off from The White House and this dude is unironically watching cars go around and make left turns? Next thing you know, it's been a couple months and we're watching NASCAR every Sunday. I'm like, 'What is happening?' I wanted the reader to enjoy the love and the humor through all of those stories."

The House actor's new book will lift the lid on his journey to understanding his sexuality - as well as his career, racism in the film and TV industry and role in the White House.

Penn's book 'You Can't Be Serious' will be released on November 2, 2021.

You can buy the book in the UK via Waterstones - including hardback copies.

Who is Kal Penn?

Kal Penn was born and raised in Montclair, New Jersey, in 1977.

He was born to Asmita Bhatt, a fragrance evaluator, and Suresh Modi, an engineer.

His parents are Gujarati immigrants to America from India.

Kal Penn attended the Freehold Regional High School District's Performing Arts High School where he participated in the school's theater productions.

In 1995, he moved to Los Angeles to study at the UCLA's prestigious School of Theatre, Film and Television. His major was film and sociology.

His acting career started with several indie films before his breakthrough film role in the comedy 'Harold & Kumar Get the Munchies', released in 2004.

He has since appeared in other films in the Harold & Kumar franchise. 

He played Lawrence Kutner for two years in the television series House M.D.

But he was written out of the show as he moved to a role in the White House as part of the Obama administration.

Penn worked as an associate director in the White House Office of Public Liaison.

Between 2016 to 2019, Penn played Seth Wright in the political drama Designated Survivor while also acting as a consultant on the show.