House MD: Kutner's Shocking Death & Why Kal Penn Left the Show
A number of characters were killed off over the course of House MD, but the most abrupt and shocking death of all came when Dr. Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn) committed suicide in season 5, episode 20, «Simple Explanation.» Kutner had been introduced in season 4 as one of a large pool of applicants whom House (Hugh Laurie) — the medical Sherlock Holmes — forced to compete for a limited number of consultant positions.
Though he was fired and rehired numerous times throughout the competition, Kutner ultimately made the final cut alongside Dr. Remy «Thirteen» Hadley (Olivia Wilde) and Dr. Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson). Kutner was smart and passionate about his work, showing no outward signs of depression. In «Simple Explanation,» after he fails to show up for work, Thirteen and Foreman (Omar Epps) go to his apartment and find him dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Related: Fear the Walking Dead's Shocking Death Was Requested By the Actor
Other than Cuddy leaving House MD before the final season, Kutner's abrupt death was one of the most shocking in the medical series. Ultimately, Dr. House learns to accept that Kutner committed suicide and there may never be a real explanation for it. Off-screen, there actually was a simple explanation for why Penn left the show.
Actor Kal Penn left House MD for a different kind of house — the White House. Speaking in an interview with NPR, Penn recalled that his co-star Olivia Wilde invited him to a Barack Obama event during the 2007 Democratic primaries. At the time Penn had read Obama's book but wasn't interested in getting involved in politics. Attending the event, however, changed his mind:
«I went to this event with [Wilde], really actually liked it...[and] was enamored
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