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Time of India
02-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Kal Penn BACKS Priyanka Chopra for picking hot dogs over vada pav: ‘Aren't people allowed to like other things?'
Actor, producer and former White House staffer Kal Penn has come forward in support of Priyanka Chopra after her recent food preference stirred an unexpected online debate. The drama began when Priyanka , during a red carpet interview at the premiere of her film 'Heads of State', picked hot dogs over the beloved Mumbai street snack, vada pav. While many fans were amused, others expressed their disappointment at her choice, with some even accusing her of turning her back on Indian street food. But Kal Penn, known for his roles in 'Harold & Kumar' and 'Designated Survivor', had a simple question in response to the criticism, 'Are people not allowed to like other things?' Kal Penn recalls MasterChef food moment Speaking to Indian Express, Kal admitted that he hadn't seen exactly what Priyanka said, but he opened up about facing similar moments. He recalled being on MasterChef, where the judges were surprised when he said his favourite food was tacos. 'They were clearly disappointed, and then they asked me whether I could cook something like chicken tikka masala or something Indian. I told them straight away no, and they asked me, 'Do you not like Indian food?' I told them I loved Indian food, and I had even planned on cooking one of my mother's recipes on the show, but now I am definitely not going to do it,' Kal shared. Kal feels others push their preferences Kal believes that people often expect celebrities to behave a certain way, especially when it comes to culture. 'For me, it's just the silliness of the fact that are people not allowed to like other things? I think people just project their own likes and dislikes, so I just laugh it off,' he said. Kal Penn calls Priyanka unapologetically real Kal also shared kind words about Priyanka. He said, 'I know and love her. I find her to be completely authentic and wonderful, and unapologetically so, which is very refreshing.' Priyanka's food choice sparked online reactions The food talk started when Priyanka was asked to choose between hot dogs and vada pav at the premiere of her film 'Heads of State'. She quickly picked hot dogs and didn't say yes to samosas either. This led to a wave of reactions on social media. Some people joked about it, but others questioned her 'desi-ness'. Not one to stay silent, Priyanka shared a funny reel by an influencer on Instagram. In the video, he questioned why she took so long to pick between Indian and Western snacks. She wrote in her story, 'Wow bro! Didn't know there was a syllabus for being desi. Its not that serious (laughing face emoticons).' Priyanka's upcoming films PeeCee will be back as Nadia in Season 2 of 'Citadel'. She is also playing a 19th-century Caribbean pirate in 'The Bluff'. Another big film on her list is one by SS Rajamouli, where she will star alongside Mahesh Babu .
Straits Times
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Ballard actress Maggie Q learnt from Jackie Chan and Tom Cruise's work ethic
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Maggie Q plays a detective who takes over the cold case division at the Los Angeles police department in Ballard. NEW YORK – More than 20 years ago, Hong Kong cinema legend Jackie Chan saw something in a young model-turned-actress named Maggie Q, and decided to sign her to his management company and train her to become an action star. Now, the Asian-American performer is back in the spotlight with her first high-profile role in more than five years, headlining Ballard, an acclaimed police procedural series streaming on Prime Video. And the 46-year-old says witnessing the ferocious work ethic of movie stars such as Chan and her Mission: Impossible III (2006) co-star Tom Cruise continues to shape her professionally today. A spin-off of the cult Bosch crime shows (2014 to 2025), Ballard – which has a 100 per cent critics' rating on review site Rotten Tomatoes – follows Renee Ballard (Q), a detective with a chip on her shoulder who takes over the cold case division at the Los Angeles police department. At a recent screening in New York, Q – whose last major TV roles were the action thriller Nikita (2010 to 2013) and political drama Designated Survivor (2016 to 2019) – says it was an honour to portray a police detective. The source material for the show, the Renee Ballard crime novels by best-selling American author Michael Connelly, were based on a real 30-year female police veteran whom Q spent time with on set every day. 'And there are so many qualities about her that I don't possess, but was able to bring to Ballard – because as a detective, there's a certain amount of not just patience but also fortitude,' says Q, whose full name is Margaret Quigley. Her Vietnamese mother and Irish-Polish American father met during the Vietnam War. Maggie Q in Ballard. PHOTO: PRIME VIDEO 'You have to keep your eye on the prize and it takes years, so you can imagine the dedication. You're talking about a detective who will spend 10, 15 years just trying to bring one family a modicum of peace after something tragic.' Q left her home in Honolulu, Hawaii, in her late teens, and moved to Tokyo and Hong Kong to become a model. She made the leap to acting. Impressed with her turn in Hong Kong action film Gen-Y Cops (2000), Chan gave her bit parts in his American action movies Rush Hour 2 (2001) and Around The World In 80 Days (2004). 'He's one of the hardest workers I've ever seen,' says Q of the 71-year-old, who made his mark in Hollywood with the Rush Hour action comedies (1998 to 2007) and voiced Master Monkey in the Kung Fu Panda animated franchise (2008 to 2016). 'I saw him and went, 'Oh, it takes 1,000 per cent. Not 100 per cent, not 200 per cent. Everything you have.' 'And for my early days, to be able to witness that type of work ethic, I think that cemented something in me, and I'm a hard worker already,' adds the star, who is married to Vietnamese-American former hedge fund manager Curtis Macnguyen, 56. When she took on her first big role in an American film, playing an intelligence agent in the spy thriller Mission: Impossible III, she experienced the same thing with American actor Cruise, 63. 'Same work ethic, and both very successful people. And I got to see very early on what that took,' says Q, who went on to appear in the Divergent science-fiction film trilogy (2014 to 2016). US actress Maggie Q attends the Los Angeles premiere of Prime Video's Ballard in California on July 9. PHOTO: AFP With Cruise, she also got her first close-up look at Hollywood megastardom when she shot her scenes with him. On their first day of filming at the Tiber river in Rome, Italy, 'there must have been at least 5,000 people lining the river just to catch a glimpse of him'. 'I was in a boat with him and I remember thinking, 'My god, the power of a movie star.' I didn't know what a movie star was until that film.'
Indian Express
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Kal Penn, actor and activist, is guest at Express Adda today
Kal Penn wears many hats — actor, author, TV show host, producer and former White House staffer. Most recently, he has been making headlines for reprising the role of Kumar in the upcoming fourth installment in the Harold and Kumar franchise and for the fact that his name for the role of Gogol in Mira Nair's adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake (2006) was suggested by New York City's mayoral candidate and Nair's son Zohran Mamdani. Penn will be the guest at Express Adda in Mumbai on Friday. He will be in conversation with Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Indian Express Group. Penn began his acting career in 1998 with Express: Aisle to Glory, but his breakthrough role came only six years later with Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. Since then, he has been part of close to 100 productions — films, TV shows and as a host — through which he has consistently made a case for, and broken stereotypes about, South Asian representation in Hollywood. Noteworthy parts include those in House (2004) where he plays Dr Lawrence Kutner, whose identity went beyond his ethnicity, and in Designated Survivor (2016), where he plays the White House Press Secretary Seth Wright. He also starred in the immigration sit-com Sunnyside (2019) which he co-created, and Clarice (2021), the sequel to the 1991 classic thriller The Silence of the Lambs. Interestingly, for Designated Survivor, he had first-hand experience to borrow from. After advocating for Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2007-2008, he went on to become the Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs. As the President's Liaison to Young Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and the Arts community, he worked on issues such as the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell', the Affordable Care Act, Pell Grants, arts and culture programmes, the DREAM Act and rapid response to the BP Oil Spill and earthquake in Haiti. As someone who has always had one foot in acting and the other in activism — he has a double major in films and sociology from UCLA — Penn left the White House in 2010 to film A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas. He returned later that year as the national co-chair for the Obama/ Biden re-election campaign in 2012 and served on the President's Committee for the Arts and Humanities, focusing on arts education and cultural diplomacy. During his second stint at the White House, where he served for nearly seven years, he campaigned for both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, finally resigning in 2017. He also supported 2024 Presidential candidate Kamala Harris. In 2021, Penn authored his memoir, You Can't Be Serious, where among other things, he introduced his long-time partner Josh and wrote about his sexuality. The Express Adda is a series of informal interactions organised by The Indian Express Group and features those at the centre of change. Previous guests at the Adda include Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, philanthropist Bill Gates and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.
Pink Villa
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Michael Madsen Passes Away at 67: Walton Goggins, Billy Baldwin and More Remember Sin City Star in Emotional Tributes
American actor Michael Madsen breathed his last on July 3, as confirmed by his publicist Liz Rodriguez, to CNN. The actor was reportedly found unconscious at his Malibu home on Thursday morning. The Los Angeles Sheriff Department Lost Hills Station shared that the actor was found unresponsive, and his demise was confirmed at 8:25 am. No foul play was suspected at the scene. Now, Hollywood is taking to social media to mourn the loss of the talented actor whose recent years were marred by controversies. Designated Survivor actress and his sister, Virginia Madsen, shared a tribute on her Instagram account on behalf of her entire family, calling him 'thunder' and 'velvet'. She added that she'll miss their 'inside jokes, the sudden laughter, the sound of him. ' 'I'll miss the boy he was before the legend. I miss my big brother. Thank you to everyone reaching out with love and memory. In time, we'll share how we plan to celebrate his life. But for now—we stay close, and let the silence say what words can't.' His passing over the July 4 weekend was not lost on anyone, as Billy Baldwin wrote, 'Fitting that Michael Madsen would pass away on 4th of July weekend. He was no firecracker… a total stick of dynamite on screen and in life. Rest easy my friend.' Rob Schneider said, 'Michael Madsen was a dream to work with. A truly gifted actor & gentleman who made every person on the set comfortable; generous with his stories & with his infectious laughter,' adding his regret about not having worked together more often. The Hateful Eight co-star Walton Goggins shared photos from their time together and called him an 'icon' with an 'aura like no one else'. Meanwhile, The Getaway co-star Jennifer Tilly termed him one of her favorite on set. About Michael Madsen The actor is known for his work in films like Reservoir Dogs, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, Donnie Brasco, Die Another Day, Sin City, and Scary Movie 4, alongside voice acting in many others. A Corpse in Kensington and Legend of the White Dragon are two of his movies that are yet to be released and will become his posthumous projects. Michael Madsen is survived by his wife DeAnna Morgan and six children.
Daily Record
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Prime Video's Ballard release date, cast, trailer and what to expect from Bosch spin-off
Ballard is set in the same universe as author Michael Connelly's Bosch and The Lincoln Lawyer Ballard is Prime Video's next big crime drama with fans eager to know everything about the upcoming book adaptation. The third and final series of Botch: Legacy came out earlier this year with the last season introducing Detective Renee Ballard (played by Maggie Q) as she helped Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver) with a particularly complex case. Now Ballard is getting her own show, based on the work of author Michael Connelly, who is also behind the Bosch and The Lincoln Lawyer book series. Ahead of its debut, here's everything you need to know about Ballard. Ballard release date There is only a matter of days left to wait before Ballard premieres with the Bosch spin-off coming out on Wednesday, 9th July, on Prime Video. All episodes are going to be dropped on this initial release date so fans will be able to binge-watch whenever they want. Ballard cast Leading the cast as Detective Renee Ballard is actress Maggie Q who is famed for playing Hannah Wells in Designated Survivor and portraying the titular character of Nikita for three years. She is joined by Fargo and The Founder star John Carroll Lynch who is behind Ballard's retired former police partner Thomas Laffont. Meanwhile, Ozark's Michael Mosley plays reserve LAPD officer Ted Rawls, The Client List star Rebecca Field as volunteer Colleen, Plan B's Victoria Moroles as legal intern Martina and 50 First Dates actress Amy Hill as the detective's grandmother Tutu. It has also already been confirmed that Bosch actor Titus Welliver will be reprising his role for Ballard. What to expect from Ballard Ballard is tasked with leading the LAPD's newly established but under funded cold case division after she is forced to take a break from the homicide division. She investigates various complicated, unsolved crimes, one of which is a string of serial killings and a murdered John Doe. Ballard is able to get to the bottom of cases with help from her team of volunteers as well as a friendly face in Bosch. On top of her workload, Ballard has to deal with her personal struggles which made her leave the homicide division in the first place.
