Q&A: Kal Penn on his first time playing gay character in ‘Trust Me, I’m a Doctor’
In “Trust Me, I’m a Doctor,” out gay actor Kal Penn delivers an impressive performance as Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, a gay man who was charged with 6 felonies in the death of Anna Nicole Smith. The film recounts Dr. Kapoor’s story starting with his lawyer, Ellyn Garofalo (Linda Hamilton, outstanding), doing discovery. Episodes show how … Read More
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In “Trust Me, I’m a Doctor,” out gay actor Kal Penn delivers an impressive performance as Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, a gay man who was charged with 6 felonies in the death of Anna Nicole Smith. The film recounts Dr. Kapoor’s story starting with his lawyer, Ellyn Garofalo (Linda Hamilton, outstanding), doing discovery. Episodes show how Sandeep met Smith (Abbie Cornish) when he took over another doctor’s medical practice. Anna and Sandeep partied at WeHo Pride, and he prescribed drugs for her as well as her son, Daniel (Jordan Kronis). These events raise suspicions about his behavior as does Sandeep taking home the Smith family medical files to avoid them being obtained by TMZ.
Kapoor insists he is innocent, and while he may have crossed some ethical lines, he must manage the image crisis as a scandal drags his name and reputation through the mud. In the process, he also must come out to his parents.
Penn plays Kapoor with the right about of guile; he seems clueless at times, but he can also be crafty, and the fun of this rollicking film is seeing how Kapoor unboxes himself from the corners he is in.
Even if viewers know how things play out, “Trust Me, I’m a Doctor” is highly entertaining. Penn spoke with Gay City News about his new film.
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“Trust Me, I’m a Doctor,” directed by Thane Economou, opened Oct. 16 at the AMC Empire 25 and AMC Jersey Gardens 20.[/caption]
If I’m correct, this is the first time you are playing gay in a film? What can you say about that? Do you feel you deliver a more authentic performance as a gay man?
I have honestly never thought about that. Perhaps it is silly that I hadn’t. There have been some TV pilots and things that didn't come to fruition [where I played gay]. When I read the script for “Trust Me, I’m a Doctor,” obviously, Sandeep is gay, and it is a small part of the film. But it manifests itself in an interesting way, because other than that scene with his dad, where he talks about lying and compartmentalizing all of these things in his life, he is pretty open and comfortable with who he is. He is like that in real life, too. The script was based on the book that Sandeep wrote about his account of his experiences. I remember in getting to know him, and talking to him, he was out and open with his patients, and a lot of family members. He had gone to the Abbey [a gay bar in WeHo] tons of times with his friends. He really only compartmentalized his life when it came to his relationship with his father. For me, in terms of the authenticity of the character, it is more about this flawed doctor who gravitated towards fame, than it was about any sort of a struggle with his sexuality.
How did you identify with Sandeep?
Sandeep is so different from me in real life in almost every way, which is one of the joys of playing him.
Sandeep explains he is “an intensely private person.” He also says that WeHo Pride was one of the few places he could “be himself.” He tells his father he lies to “keep the status quo” he says. What observations do you have about the character?
I don't buy it when Sandeep says, “I’m a private person,” that he necessarily means it. I think he thinks he is a private person. But the way that he is drawn to a journalist or a phone call from TMZ, it is more of a push and pull than it is a definitively private thing — at least in the film. Every human overcompensates; it comes from a place of insecurity. I found that that was a thing that kept popping up in Sandeep’s character. When he is shadowing the doctor that he buys his practice from, and he walks in and sees Anna Nicole Smith, he is immediately enamored by her. His eyes glaze over because this super-hot, very famous woman is now his patient.
What was your real-life impression of Anna Nicole Smith? Did you ever have an encounter with her?
I saw her once in person, way back in the day, when I was first starting out in my career. This must have been during her reality show, because there were cameras all around her. I was at the end of an L-shaped bar, and she was at the opposite end of the bar and going down the line making out with every person in line. I realized I was going be the last person she kissed. So, I politely stepped away, mostly because I didn't want to make out with 14 people through the transitive property of kissing her. That was my only interaction with the real Anna Nicole Smith ever. These were the relatively early days of reality television, and I do remember thinking, I wonder if she has a reality show because this is actually her personality, or if her personality is like this in this moment, because the cameras are rolling.
What did you glean from Dr. Kapoor from your meetings with him? I noticed that your voice was a bit different in the film.
I had dinner with him a few times. He also let me shadow him. He still has the same practice in the San Fernando Valley, that he bought from Dr. Kovner, whom he inherited Anna and a bunch of other patients. I think the first thing that stuck out to me is the way that that he doctors reminds me of 1950s TV doctors. The office is in an old house, and people will call him, or text him. I don't have my doctor's phone number. I have to call a stupid fucking AI thing to get an appointment, and here is a guy whose patients can text and call him? What is this wizardry? Once I got a sense of that, I thought, this is a guy whose approach to medicine has always been very different than others, so that opened up my eyes. His personality and the way that he presents himself — he doesn't code switch, but he sort of changes and adapts based on the comfort level that he had with different people — would unlock a different way that he would present parts of his personality.
There are times in his conversations early on, especially with his lawyer, where he is a bit more buttoned up than later when they really get to know each other. Do I play him the way that he is, or do I take certain creative liberties? He's such an interesting guy, that I wanted to play him as he is. It was definitely a welcome challenge.
What did you think of Dr. Kapoor’s ethics? He does some things that are questionable but with the right intentions. The strength of your performance is how you convey his guile in ways that create sympathy. Thoughts?
Before I read the script, in my head, I thought, isn't that guy in jail? I didn't know going into it. The real Dr. Kapoor felt that Anna was not addicted to certain medications, but she had a dependency. The cynical voice in my head was like, “Yeah, that's all semantics.” And then you take a step back, and medically, what is the difference?
Sandeep really dug a hole for himself. His lawyer has a real hard time with him bringing Anna’s patient files home. I think in terms of unlocking his character, it wasn't: Are you guilty, or are you not guilty? To me, the real question of discovering the character was, what are the vulnerabilities? Why did you do the things you did at the time? What was the reasoning there? What did you believe you were doing versus what it looked like?
I appreciated Sandeep’s relationship with his father. What did you key into with that storyline, where his parents want him to be the model minority and he doesn’t want to disappoint them.
In real life, Sandeep had a better, much more dynamic relationship with his father than what we depict in the film. To me, it’s not even gay related, and it’s not really model-minority related. Obviously, there are elements of both that exist in the film; they have to by virtue of who he is. But it was the age-old question of: Are we disappointing our parents, and the people we love, and wanting them to be proud of you, and what those definitions of being proud are.
Even before all of this [legal drama] started, Sandeep clearly had spent quite a lot of time thinking about surrogacy in his own desire to start a family. [A subplot has him wanting children.] He wasn’t going to wait around for a romantic partner. At the end of the day, those are also very selfish conversations. He wanted kids, and he wanted to do it the way that he wanted. Yes, he also wanted to do it because he knew it would make his parents happy, but you are not going to have kids just to make your parents happy. Those are the complexities of what made him tick.
What did you think of his impressions about fame — he enjoys the spotlight except when he is in it for the wrong reasons.
He told me this story at great length, but I was fascinated by it as somebody who does what I do for a living. You can tell at a party when somebody's talking to you for the wrong reasons, versus if they actually enjoy your company. That is just something you know if you are in the public eye. In real life, Anna brought Sandeep to the Abbey. He is used to going to the Abbey, but he doesn't fit the very narrow standard of beauty that often exists, unfortunately, in spaces like this.
The first time he went with Anna, guys want to talk to him. He is getting attention from really handsome people and he is having a great night. I just remember thinking, Yeah, but didn’t you know that that was all bullshit? Like, those people didn’t want to actually get to know you. And he was like, yeah, who cares? You’re having a great time and experiencing something in a new way. I realized, I was the one overthinking it! Imagine that there is this place you’ve known for a long time, and suddenly you experience it in a whole new way? I don't know that I would have behaved any differently. I don't know that any of us would have behaved any differently. Of course, today we could say, “I would never spend 4 hours getting wasted talking to people who don't actually want to know me for me.” But would you? In that particular evening, after that much champagne, would you? He's going to wake up tomorrow and be a doctor. Anna is not. She has people following her around all the time. I think that suspension of disbelief, for the character of Sandeep, was an interesting one for me.
“Trust Me, I’m a Doctor” certainly has implications for the recent case involving Matthew Perry, and Sandeep was a talking head when it came to Michael Jackson’s death. What do you think about the topicality of the film?
These are comparisons that come up all the time. I know very little about those cases, because I didn't play those doctors yet. This movie is being made in part because this is a topic in the zeitgeist. Depending on how many layers of the onion you want to peel back, we can get into how Americans are over-prescribed so many medications compared to other industrialized countries, and the state of our healthcare system, and aspects of who has access to it, and privilege, and all of that. We could spend hours going into that, but I think you're right in so far as this is a topic in the public eye that is clearly a blind spot. Are there people who are not being protected? Overall, the question, depending on the doctor and on the case, is, are they not being protected by people who should be protecting them? Have people slipped through the cracks? Are there political motivations? None of it is straightforward.
“Trust Me, I’m a Doctor” | Directed by Thane Economou | Opening October 16 at the AMC Empire 25 and AMC Jersey Gardens 20 | Distributed by Briarcliff Entertainment.
“Trust Me, I’m a Doctor,” directed by Thane Economou, opened Oct. 16 at the AMC Empire 25 and AMC Jersey Gardens 20.[/caption]
If I’m correct, this is the first time you are playing gay in a film? What can you say about that? Do you feel you deliver a more authentic performance as a gay man?
I have honestly never thought about that. Perhaps it is silly that I hadn’t. There have been some TV pilots and things that didn't come to fruition [where I played gay]. When I read the script for “Trust Me, I’m a Doctor,” obviously, Sandeep is gay, and it is a small part of the film. But it manifests itself in an interesting way, because other than that scene with his dad, where he talks about lying and compartmentalizing all of these things in his life, he is pretty open and comfortable with who he is. He is like that in real life, too. The script was based on the book that Sandeep wrote about his account of his experiences. I remember in getting to know him, and talking to him, he was out and open with his patients, and a lot of family members. He had gone to the Abbey [a gay bar in WeHo] tons of times with his friends. He really only compartmentalized his life when it came to his relationship with his father. For me, in terms of the authenticity of the character, it is more about this flawed doctor who gravitated towards fame, than it was about any sort of a struggle with his sexuality.
How did you identify with Sandeep?
Sandeep is so different from me in real life in almost every way, which is one of the joys of playing him.
Sandeep explains he is “an intensely private person.” He also says that WeHo Pride was one of the few places he could “be himself.” He tells his father he lies to “keep the status quo” he says. What observations do you have about the character?
I don't buy it when Sandeep says, “I’m a private person,” that he necessarily means it. I think he thinks he is a private person. But the way that he is drawn to a journalist or a phone call from TMZ, it is more of a push and pull than it is a definitively private thing — at least in the film. Every human overcompensates; it comes from a place of insecurity. I found that that was a thing that kept popping up in Sandeep’s character. When he is shadowing the doctor that he buys his practice from, and he walks in and sees Anna Nicole Smith, he is immediately enamored by her. His eyes glaze over because this super-hot, very famous woman is now his patient.
What was your real-life impression of Anna Nicole Smith? Did you ever have an encounter with her?
I saw her once in person, way back in the day, when I was first starting out in my career. This must have been during her reality show, because there were cameras all around her. I was at the end of an L-shaped bar, and she was at the opposite end of the bar and going down the line making out with every person in line. I realized I was going be the last person she kissed. So, I politely stepped away, mostly because I didn't want to make out with 14 people through the transitive property of kissing her. That was my only interaction with the real Anna Nicole Smith ever. These were the relatively early days of reality television, and I do remember thinking, I wonder if she has a reality show because this is actually her personality, or if her personality is like this in this moment, because the cameras are rolling.
What did you glean from Dr. Kapoor from your meetings with him? I noticed that your voice was a bit different in the film.
I had dinner with him a few times. He also let me shadow him. He still has the same practice in the San Fernando Valley, that he bought from Dr. Kovner, whom he inherited Anna and a bunch of other patients. I think the first thing that stuck out to me is the way that that he doctors reminds me of 1950s TV doctors. The office is in an old house, and people will call him, or text him. I don't have my doctor's phone number. I have to call a stupid fucking AI thing to get an appointment, and here is a guy whose patients can text and call him? What is this wizardry? Once I got a sense of that, I thought, this is a guy whose approach to medicine has always been very different than others, so that opened up my eyes. His personality and the way that he presents himself — he doesn't code switch, but he sort of changes and adapts based on the comfort level that he had with different people — would unlock a different way that he would present parts of his personality.
There are times in his conversations early on, especially with his lawyer, where he is a bit more buttoned up than later when they really get to know each other. Do I play him the way that he is, or do I take certain creative liberties? He's such an interesting guy, that I wanted to play him as he is. It was definitely a welcome challenge.
What did you think of Dr. Kapoor’s ethics? He does some things that are questionable but with the right intentions. The strength of your performance is how you convey his guile in ways that create sympathy. Thoughts?
Before I read the script, in my head, I thought, isn't that guy in jail? I didn't know going into it. The real Dr. Kapoor felt that Anna was not addicted to certain medications, but she had a dependency. The cynical voice in my head was like, “Yeah, that's all semantics.” And then you take a step back, and medically, what is the difference?
Sandeep really dug a hole for himself. His lawyer has a real hard time with him bringing Anna’s patient files home. I think in terms of unlocking his character, it wasn't: Are you guilty, or are you not guilty? To me, the real question of discovering the character was, what are the vulnerabilities? Why did you do the things you did at the time? What was the reasoning there? What did you believe you were doing versus what it looked like?
I appreciated Sandeep’s relationship with his father. What did you key into with that storyline, where his parents want him to be the model minority and he doesn’t want to disappoint them.
In real life, Sandeep had a better, much more dynamic relationship with his father than what we depict in the film. To me, it’s not even gay related, and it’s not really model-minority related. Obviously, there are elements of both that exist in the film; they have to by virtue of who he is. But it was the age-old question of: Are we disappointing our parents, and the people we love, and wanting them to be proud of you, and what those definitions of being proud are.
Even before all of this [legal drama] started, Sandeep clearly had spent quite a lot of time thinking about surrogacy in his own desire to start a family. [A subplot has him wanting children.] He wasn’t going to wait around for a romantic partner. At the end of the day, those are also very selfish conversations. He wanted kids, and he wanted to do it the way that he wanted. Yes, he also wanted to do it because he knew it would make his parents happy, but you are not going to have kids just to make your parents happy. Those are the complexities of what made him tick.
What did you think of his impressions about fame — he enjoys the spotlight except when he is in it for the wrong reasons.
He told me this story at great length, but I was fascinated by it as somebody who does what I do for a living. You can tell at a party when somebody's talking to you for the wrong reasons, versus if they actually enjoy your company. That is just something you know if you are in the public eye. In real life, Anna brought Sandeep to the Abbey. He is used to going to the Abbey, but he doesn't fit the very narrow standard of beauty that often exists, unfortunately, in spaces like this.
The first time he went with Anna, guys want to talk to him. He is getting attention from really handsome people and he is having a great night. I just remember thinking, Yeah, but didn’t you know that that was all bullshit? Like, those people didn’t want to actually get to know you. And he was like, yeah, who cares? You’re having a great time and experiencing something in a new way. I realized, I was the one overthinking it! Imagine that there is this place you’ve known for a long time, and suddenly you experience it in a whole new way? I don't know that I would have behaved any differently. I don't know that any of us would have behaved any differently. Of course, today we could say, “I would never spend 4 hours getting wasted talking to people who don't actually want to know me for me.” But would you? In that particular evening, after that much champagne, would you? He's going to wake up tomorrow and be a doctor. Anna is not. She has people following her around all the time. I think that suspension of disbelief, for the character of Sandeep, was an interesting one for me.
“Trust Me, I’m a Doctor” certainly has implications for the recent case involving Matthew Perry, and Sandeep was a talking head when it came to Michael Jackson’s death. What do you think about the topicality of the film?
These are comparisons that come up all the time. I know very little about those cases, because I didn't play those doctors yet. This movie is being made in part because this is a topic in the zeitgeist. Depending on how many layers of the onion you want to peel back, we can get into how Americans are over-prescribed so many medications compared to other industrialized countries, and the state of our healthcare system, and aspects of who has access to it, and privilege, and all of that. We could spend hours going into that, but I think you're right in so far as this is a topic in the public eye that is clearly a blind spot. Are there people who are not being protected? Overall, the question, depending on the doctor and on the case, is, are they not being protected by people who should be protecting them? Have people slipped through the cracks? Are there political motivations? None of it is straightforward.
“Trust Me, I’m a Doctor” | Directed by Thane Economou | Opening October 16 at the AMC Empire 25 and AMC Jersey Gardens 20 | Distributed by Briarcliff Entertainment. 
