John Cho rises to the top, with Harold's help

In this image provided by New Line Cinema, John Cho, left, and Kal Penn, are shown in a scene from New Line Cinema's "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay". (AP Photo/New Line Cinema, Jaimie Trueblood) ** NO SALES ** less In this image provided by New Line Cinema, John Cho, left, and Kal Penn, are shown in a scene from New Line Cinema's "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay". (AP Photo/New Line Cinema, Jaimie Trueblood) ... more Photo: Jaimie Trueblood, AP Photo: Jaimie Trueblood, AP Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close John Cho rises to the top, with Harold's help 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

John Cho spent a lot of time in the background in Hollywood, trying to make the most of the one or two lines he was getting in his feature film roles. For years, he was famous mostly for helping make the acronym MILF popular, playing a tiny role in the first "American Pie" film.

But "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" made him a star, and his fame has steadily grown as the movie developed a cult following on DVD.

The sequel, "Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay," comes out Friday. Next year, Cho has his biggest role to date, playing Hikaru Sulu in J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" movie.

During a recent phone interview, Cho spoke about his time in Berkeley, his feelings about acting roles for Asian Americans and his surprise that a movie featuring a pot-smoking George Bush could get made.

Q:You went to UC Berkeley. Is that where you decided to become an actor?

A: That's where I fell into it, with a student play. I majored in English and I was in this writing group and this fellow in it was directing a play. He literally said, "How tall are you and what do you weigh?" I think somebody got sick and he needed to know if I fit the costume. It was really like two lines.

Q:Do you still remember those lines?

A: No, I don't. It was weird, because now that I think back on it, there are no extras in plays, are there? But I was an extra in the play. I think I was Thug No. 2, not even Thug No. 1 (but) Thug No. 2.

Q:Were you still in Berkeley when things started taking off?

A: I did a play at (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), and that was my first professional anything, really. They were doing a production of "The Woman Warrior," which was an adaptation of a book that I was an admirer of. It really seemed very glamorous at the time, especially when the play toured. I remember going to Boston and marveling at the fact that I got my own studio apartment as part of the deal. It was literally the first time that I had a room to myself, in my entire life. I thought, "This is it. This is the path to riches."

Q:Among the Asian American actors you were working with and running into, who made the biggest impact?

A: Probably the most impactful was Tsai Chin; she was in "The Joy Luck Club." She stood out to me because, as an actor, you can feel so powerless. And she seemed so in command of her life and career and gifts as an actor. She was just a very powerful person. Historically, being a woman, being Asian American, being (older) in a field where historically all those things are against you - she just impressed me very much.

Q:You had to work your way up in Hollywood, playing a lot of pizza delivery guys and Thug No. 2 roles. I think I saw you as a valet in "The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas." Did you ever think about quitting?

A: I've had an unusual career in that I've never had a big break, but the rent always seemed to get paid. As long as the rent's getting paid, you don't think about getting out of the game.

I do remember the moment where I thought, "This is really doable." It was my first weeklong job and I got a check that was big enough to pay off my credit card debt. ... I could be wrong, I think it might have been an episode of "Charmed." That was just a thrilling day. I called my friends and said, "I'm a free man." And then I took the $20 that was left and bought some beers.

Q:You received a lot of positive press for your role in "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle." Even though the movie is kind of lowbrow, it seemed like people appreciated seeing a realistic Asian character.

A: One of the things I like about comedy in general is that it affords Asian Americans the opportunity to not be noble. For a while (Asian American stereotypes) were so blatantly negative. And then it felt like Hollywood started to wise up, because people were complaining, so we were playing kind nurses and the good cop who had two lines. They were noble characters and it was fine, but, narratively speaking, they were negligible. I got sort of sick of seeing Asians being the blank, bland real estate agent or something. I didn't care. It didn't mean anything to me. There were 100 more of us working, but nothing substantive.

I liked Harold and Kumar's attitude because the movie had them doing really horrible things and illegal things. I was really attracted to that.

Q:In the next movie, Harold and Kumar deal with a lot of politics and race humor. What did you think when you saw the script?

A: I was really thrilled when I saw the script. ... If the first film had been a success at the box office and they had green-lit a sequel immediately, we probably would have gone to Amsterdam, and I'm sure that movie wouldn't have been as strong as the one we have now. We would have gone to Europe and there would have been smelly Frenchmen jokes and people in lederhosen and that sort of thing."

Q:How did that change?

A: The slow DVD sales prevented us from us getting a green light immediately, and we had time to gather information about what people loved about the first one. People dug the racial and political humor to a point where we were really surprised. ... We knew we had to top the first one, and we weren't sure how to do that. When they got the writing assignment, Guantanamo Bay was in the news, and that sort of provided a springboard.

Q:Considering the sensitive political climate, are you surprised that the film got made?

A: I thought, "There's no way we can pull this off. Someone is going to stop us." We can't have George Bush in our movie smoking pot. We're going to be assassinated. We can't have a bottomless party, can we? Someone is going to stop that, right? I kept expecting the ax to fall from the studio and it never did, and they never did. I kept expecting the MPAA to throw it down, and they never did.

Q:You're married. What's it like telling your wife that you'll be spending part of the week filming a scene at a bottomless party.

A: It's mildly awkward. It's weird. And it's a sentence you don't say too much, so you remember it.

Q:I know you're sworn to secrecy and can only say about five words about the next "Star Trek" movie, but what's it like to play Sulu?

A: From what I saw on set, I think we're making a really fun, good movie. I think people can expect something that pays homage to the original series but also does something really fresh and exciting and young and athletic. On the topic of Sulu, he was such an important character to me, seeing (original Sulu actor George Takei) as I was growing up on television. It was a huge honor for me.

Q:You're set for life now. If your career goes bad, you can just sign autographs at one of those conventions.

A: Usually, people ask what you're working on next, and you say, "Uh, it's this show about two guys and their roommates, and one of them is messy." People don't care. It seems like everyone knows something about "Star Trek." It's such a part of American pop culture. It's definitely bizarre being associated with something everyone knows about.