Kal Penn Says He’s ‘Still Interested’ in Possibly Taking Over for Jon Stewart onThe Daily Show(Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Kal Penn in Los Angeles, California in March 2024.Photo:Jon Kopaloff/Getty

Jon Kopaloff/Getty

IfJon Stewartstepped away fromThe Daily Show,Kal Penncertainly wouldn’t mind taking his place.

At the Global Citizens Festival on Saturday, Sept. 28, Penn, 47, explained his dream of one day hostingThe Daily Show.Stewart returned in February almost nine years after his exit, with plans of appearing on Mondays through the presidential election. He also serves as an executive producer.

“I had the chance to guest host two weeks onThe Daily Showlast season so we’ll see,” Penn told PEOPLE at the event. “They say Jon is back for one season. The fanboy part of me is like I hope Jon stays onThe Daily Show,because I’m such a fan and I grew up on [it].”

Kal Penn and his fiancé Josh in New York City in March 2019.James Devaney/Getty

James Devaney/Getty

“Then the agent part is when your team calls and is like, ‘Jon may be leaving after the election. Are you still interested in this job?’ " he continued. “I’m like, ‘Yes, of course! I’m still interested in that job!’ There’s a lot of fun stuff happening. Any time we’re around an election, it’s so tense, so what I love about what I do in the comedy space is you have the chance to do theoppositeof like, the stress.”

Penn also expressed a desire to potentially star in a fourthHarold & Kumarfilm. The third installment,A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas,costarringJohn Cho, premiered almost 13 years ago. “I would love to do that if it works out,” Penn added.

The annualGlobal Citizen Festival’s mission is to “defeat poverty, defend the planet and demand equity,” per itswebsite. Fans are required to take action to end extreme poverty to get free tickets to the event. Along with Penn,Post Malone, Doja Cat, LISA, Rauw Alejandro, Jelly Roll, RAYE, Benson Boone,Hugh Jackmanwere among this year’s attendees.

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Speaking on the significance of the initiative, Penn told PEOPLE, “It also comes with important partnerships and the idea that wherever governments or leaders have failed us, there’s pressure from the private sector and people to figure out how to get the money and how to support what nonprofits are doing to make sure we’re alleviating poverty. That concept alone is really important to support.”

Earlier this year, Penn voiced the role of Zinzan (Jinzan) in the English dub of the Japanese animation filmThe Imaginaryon Netflix.

source: people.com