Kal Penn Leaps from House to White House

First there was surprise suicide-by-shotgun. Now comes the salary cut – a big one. And believe it or not, TV's House doc Kal Penn asked for it.

The actor, whose character Dr. Lawrence Kutner shot himself dead in this week's episode, is wrapping up Hollywood life for a job at the White House, where annual salaries for the most senior of staffers (like, the White House Chief of Staff, for example), top out at around $172,000 – enviable, but still a fraction of what most TV actors get per episode.

"There's not a lot of financial reward in these jobs," Penn, 31, whose title will be Associate Director in the Office of Public Liaison ("basically the front door of the White House," he says), told Entertainment Weekly. "But obviously, the opportunity to serve in a capacity like this is an incredible honor."