Kal Penn and Peter Jacobsen Talk 'House' Season 5

From forty, down to five, and then the final three. Kal Penn and Peter Jacobsen -- two thirds of the new House regulars -- talk about the hazing process that had them worried for their jobs, their characters' personal lives, working with Hugh Laurie and more. Because there is a Presidential debate on tonight, there will be no new House, so hopefully this helps tide you over till next week...

We're a few episodes into your second season. Are you pleased to be past the introductory phase?
Kal Penn: We got to know each other as actors and as characters last season, so it's nice. To not have to compete for the last fellowship slots and be able to explore who these characters are and how they fit together, that's very nice.

Peter Jacobsen: I agree with that. Last year everybody on the set was really welcoming in this strange situation, [but it was a] strained event we were going through for nine episodes. But coming in [for our second season] was seamless. It feels comfortable.

Was it strange and strained because you were unsure whether or not your characters would be fired?
PJ: Yeah. Well, they started out with like 30 or 40 [candidates] and I knew that there were five of us who were going to be the finalists and that we were contracted for nine episodes.

KP: What we did not know was how many were going to get chosen for the fellowship, to stay around on the show [permanently].

PJ: That we had no idea.

KP: The contract was very similar when I worked on 24. They might sign you for x number of episodes -- in this case nine -- but they can easily fire you after three. It just means they have to keep you on payroll for nine.

PJ: You know you're getting paid and that's about it. When I got the job, my wife said, you don't want the job, this is going to play into your biggest, deepest paranoias as a person. And I was like, you're right, but I'm doing it anyway.

Kind of hard to turn your back on a Top Ten show .
PJ: Oh please, I'm being facetious, it was never even a question. Being on House is a dream.

Do you ever have trouble spouting the crazy medical jargon?
KP: There's a glossary in the front of each script with the term and then the phonetic pronunciation key. So between that, the outside research we do and the fact that the script supervisor has everything on a tape recorder in case you want to hear it, it's okay.

PJ: Now that we're on the show [permanently], I'm less worried about stumbling over [words]. You get kind of used to it.

You guys have so many other credits. Are people beginning to recognize you specifically for House?
KP: Yes.

More than for Harold & Kumar?
KP: There's an overlap, which is nice. I've never had a chance to do a TV series before so it's neat to see that people do go to the movies and watch TV.

PJ: Yeah, I live in New York -- my family is there -- and there's much more time [spent] on the street and riding the subway, so there's more interaction [with the public] and it's interesting because it's more exhausting. I find myself in conversations about the show on the train. A lot of people watch the show.

What's the question people usually jump right to?
PJ: Well last season it was certainly, are you going to make it? I'm rooting for you! [Or] I hope you get fired! Now, lately, it's who's House going to hook up with? I get that one a lot.

KP: Yeah.

I think we know who House is hooking up with this season. 5 letters, starts with a C, she runs a hospital.
PJ: [Laughs] No comment.

How about your characters? What are we learning about Kutner and Taub this season? Have they been affected by Amber's death at all?
KP: At the end of last season, you found out what happened to Kutner's parents. You know that when he was six, he saw them get murdered basically, so his view of life and death is a little more grounded in something. He's mourned someone so severe that what happened to Amber is just part of life and death. But he also asked her out -- after Wilson had already beaten him to it -- so he probably had sort of a private grieving process. But when he said good-bye to her, it wasn't this big, dramatic, emotional thing for him. He just did what he had to do, smiled at her, and that was it.

PJ: And Taub's last moment of the season was coming back to his wife. He had a moment of wow, life is hard and scary and for whatever I've done in the past to hurt you, that you don't know about even, I'm here and I want to reinvest myself in you. But then two months later, they're back to old habits and some of that stuff rears its ugly head again. With many thanks to House, Taub is really forced to confront these philandering issues with his wife. You'll see more of that.

So if we're seeing more of Taub's personal life, what about Kutner?
KP: I hope we do.

You don't know yet?
KP: No. Not so far. But I hope we do.

Are we going to see how the stress of regularly working with House affects your characters?
KP: I think you probably will, now that there's no distractions with hiring and firing. And the three of us especially -- the three fellowship folks -- this is our second year, so now you'll see a little more independence because clearly House trusts us enough to hire us. So maybe we don't check in with him over every little thing. 

You can go to Cameron and Chase for advice now too. You're working with them more this season?
PJ: More and more. Everyone's sort of back now, and we're settling into our positions. It's great because we didn't get to work with them much last season.

What's your relationship with Cameron and Chase like? Are they like mentors or teachers to you?
KP: They have some seniority. Definitely.
PJ: I think we come to them at times for advice about [dealing with] House.
KP: They've already gone through the fellowship process that we're just in the middle of now.

What's it like working with Hugh Laurie?
KP: He's just so dedicated to everything. Even when there were 40 of us that started last season, he made us feel so completely welcome and part of the show. We never felt like 40 actors who may or may not make it. I think that's one of the keys to having the show work. All the nuances that you see between characters are there, in a large part, because Hugh and the writers are so giving as performers and artists. And that's rare, I think, in film and television. It's more common in theater when you're building this collaborative project.

PJ: He's incredibly generous as an actor. He's got so much on his shoulders and he knows it, everybody knows it, and his work ethic is amazing. Flawless. In fact, sometimes I think, take a breath and relax a second. He probably could afford to, but he's just really, really generous when you're in a moment with him. Coming in to a show that's already very established, you want to tread softly, but I always like to flesh things out, and right out of the gate, he was like, let's talk about it. He's very open to how other actors work and that's why the show works so well. It's not just his basic brilliance as a performer and an actor, or the writing -- which is great -- It starts with him, and the energy that comes out of him brings everyone else along.