Kal Penn Says Being an Extra on “Boy Meets World ”Fueled His Career, Despite Other Actors Warning Him Against Background Work

Kal Penn is looking back at his time working as an extra — which led him right to an episode of Boy Meets World.

On the Jan. 12 episode of Pod Meets World, Penn, 47, joined hosts (and Boy Meets World stars) Danielle Fischel, Rider Strong and Will Friedle to talk about his early career. Years ago, an eagle-eyed Boy Meets World fan recognized Penn as an extra in the season 4 episode “Quiz Show.” Penn told the podcast hosts that Boy Meets World left a major impression on him.

Penn started working as an extra while he was studying film and sociology at UCLA in the late ‘90s. “I would do this on my days off, mostly because I had never been on a real set before,” he said. While veteran actors warned him that background work never led to speaking parts, he knew it would be a good way to learn the business.

Penn added that he had “so much respect” for people who made their whole careers as professional background artists because doing the work itself could be a “nightmare.” To find jobs, you registered with a casting agency and called every day to see if they had available work, he explained.

Penn said he never kept in touch with actors from the shows he was on, but he did “interact” with the Boy Meets World crew several times. “You guys were just great with the background artists,” he said. “I had done other shows, and I was an extra on other shows.” He noted that some of his experiences on other shows weren’t as nice.

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“Being on Boy Meets World was like night and day. It was just such a joy to come in, and you guys were so nice to everybody,” the Designated Survivor star said. “I don't remember what we talked about, but I remember very clearly that it seemed like you guys all really loved this job. Which felt really good as an aspiring actor because I'm like, ‘Okay. These people are my peers. They really do love what they do.' ” Seeing “good people who really like what they do and get to make fun things” helped him see that all the auditions and odd jobs he went through were worth it, he added.

Penn noted that in all his extra work, his Boy Meets World episode was the only job where he was actually visible on screen. He told the hosts that being on the show was a “big deal,” but he didn’t tell his family or friends about it until the show aired and he actually confirmed he was included.

Related: Boy Meets World Cast Breaks Down What They Call the 'Best' Episode, but Admit It 'Scared the Bejesus Out of a Lot of Kids'

“You never see the shot that you're supposedly in,” he said. “Probably five other times I would say to the guys in my dorm, ‘Tonight, I'm gonna be on this episode.’ And then nothing.” With Boy Meets World, he taped the episode and told everyone after it aired. “I remember my mom was very excited and told a bunch of her friends,” he said.

Two years later, Penn signed with his first agent — Candace Cameron Bure’s mom Barbara Cameron — and started landing TV roles with lines. His big break came with 2004’s Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.

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