An Indian American actor shares all the stereotypical roles he has been offered

This is actor Kal Penn. He’s most famous for starring in the Harold & Kumar movies, and the TV show House.

Picture: New Line CInema

He even took a break from acting to work for the Obama administration.

Picture: STAN HONDA/AFP/GettyImages

He’s successful now, but starting out as an Indian American actor meant he got offered some very stereotypical roles – and he decided to share some examples on Twitter.

A lot of the parts wanted him to do a silly accent.

This character didn't even get a name.

Some of these were for big successful shows, like the Kevin James sitcom King of Queens.

Or Sabrina The Teenage Witch.

They kept coming.

Penn did eventually find roles that let him play three dimensional characters and not just racial stereotypes. And he praised the writers who wrote them.

Hopefully things have improved since then - but when we hear stories about Arab actors facing similar problems today, we're not so sure.

More: This female actor is anonymously tweeting all the sexism she puts up with in the industry