Kal Penn returns to the big screen Friday in “Trust Me, I’m a Doctor,” a dark satire that examines the 2007 death of model and reality TV personality Anna Nicole Smith and its aftermath from the perspective of her physician, Sandeep Kapoor.

As seen in the film, Kapoor (played by Penn) was charged with conspiracy, excessive prescribing of opiates and sedatives to an addict, and fraudulently obtaining drugs by using false names after Smith died at age 39 of a drug overdose.

Following a costly (and very public) legal battle, Kapoor was acquitted on all charges and returned to his medical practice. Still, he remains a controversial figure, especially as Smith’s life and cultural legacy have been reevaluated over time.

Speaking to HuffPost, Penn described portraying Kapoor as a “welcome challenge,” as he hadn’t played a major character based on a real-life person before, and insisted the movie isn’t meant to rehabilitate the doctor’s image.

“My focus was really on finding out the ‘whys’ of Sandeep,” said the Indian American actor, best known for his role in the “Harold & Kumar” franchise. “I was kind of taken by all of the bad decisions he makes. Obviously, the touchpoints are this really tragic story. But it’s really about vulnerability and questionable ethics, so those were interesting things for me to play.”

Written and directed by Thane Economou, “Trust Me, I’m a Doctor” is based on Kapoor’s 2017 memoir of the same name. In addition to Penn, the movie’s cast includes Abbie Cornish as Smith and Linda Hamilton as Ellyn Garofalo, the defense attorney who guides Kapoor through the trial and media frenzy that ensues in the wake of Smith’s death.

David Julian Hirsh, whose credits include “Weeds,” portrays Smith’s attorney, agent and on-and-off romantic partner Howard K. Stern. And while Smith’s ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead ― who is the father of her daughter, Dannielynn, now 20 ― has denounced the project, he is played in the film by Ted Jefferies.

After reading Economou’s script, Penn was surprised to discover how little he knew about Smith.

“I remember [her] being in the cultural zeitgeist, of course,” he said. “I was a young actor in LA and these were the nascent days of reality TV, so I kind of thought: ‘Is she hamming it up for the cameras because she has a reality show, or does she have a reality show because she’s really like this?’ And I think that’s an open question the film asks that remains unanswered.”

As part of his research, Penn spent time shadowing Kapoor in his medical office, still located in California’s San Fernando Valley.

“He said, ‘I’m glad it’s you who’s playing me, because I know you’ll do justice to my story,’” the actor recalled. “I was like, ‘Buddy, that is not my job, I just want to be clear with you right now.’”

The actor said his biggest questions for Kapoor were about his “raw vulnerability about decision-making and loneliness and [the things he did] in hysteria, like hiding things from his defense lawyer.”

“I read a lot of memoirs ― I wrote one myself ― and I don’t know that I would ever put in the deepest insecurity that’s in my heart,” he added. “And here, he’d laid out 50 of them.”

The film depicts Kapoor as a closeted gay man who enters Smith’s starry orbit after taking her on as a patient and, later, accompanying her to an LGBTQ+ Pride Parade in Los Angeles in 2005.

At a parade afterparty at The Abbey in West Hollywood, the two share a passionate kiss that’s documented by photographers. Kapoor’s sexuality is made public during his trial as Garofalo attempts to quash speculation that he and Smith were romantically intertwined beyond their makeout session.

As for Penn, he addressed his sexuality for the first time publicly in his 2021 memoir, “You Can’t Be Serious,” while noting he’d gotten engaged to his longtime partner, Josh.

Though “Trust Me, I’m a Doctor” features an emotional scene in which Kapoor comes out to his father, Penn says the movie isn’t intended as a bold statement about LGBTQ+ identity but, rather, “holds up a mirror to trust issues with healthcare providers.”

“He says, ‘I’m a private person. I love my privacy,’ and then regularly contradicts himself by doing things that draw attention to himself,” Penn said of Kapoor. “And I don’t think that’s unique to him.”

“You could see how Sandeep would be enamored [by Smith],” he added. “But ... why would you make out with your patient at The Abbey? That’s the real meat of who this guy is ... and a wild entry into a story about vulnerability.”

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