KERRY: WHEN VEGETABLES ATTACK

While filming The Last King of Scotland in Uganda, Kerry Washington, 29, got her adrenaline pumping on a gorilla-tracking safari with her fiancé, actor David Moscow. But turns out the real danger was lurking at an embassy dinner. "I got cholera from [undercooked] peppers," she says. "I got a shot and a day later was fine." Her fiancé though? Not so much. "He'd just made the trip back to L.A.—then got a call that I had cholera. By the time he got back, I was fine but he was a mess. He'd been on a plane for 72 hours!"

EMMY'S BIRTHDAY SUIT

"When I was young I hated clothing," says Poseidon's Emmy Rossum, 20, who is currently recording her first album. "I used to run around everywhere naked. I had a Beauty and the Beast-themed birthday party when I was 4 years old, took off my Belle costume, ran around a bit and then jumped in the pool—which I thought was totally appropriate." Luckily, with age comes restraint. "Now," says Rossum, "I think it would cause [too much] of a scene."

FREE ASSOCIATION ... with ROBERT SEAN LEONARD, whose FOX series House is now on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET:

Hospitals: Avoid them at all costs. If you don't know what's wrong with you, it can't hurt you. I'm sure there's a hole in that logic somewhere.

Paris makes up with Nicole and Lindsay: Wow, it's amazing how many times the plot of King Lear is reflected in life, isn't it?

Your personal idol: Stephen Colbert. And I'm a huge fan of Bill Clinton. I met him once. He was amazing. Those presidents are tall. It's amazing when you meet them—they look much shorter onscreen.

Super-skinny actresses: If I had my choice, I'd pick the Golddigger girls from Dean Martin's variety show or that great stewardess look of the early '70s, [when] women were women.

Madonna adopts 1-year-old Malawian boy: Why not? Better him than me.

People, if I don't go back to my table, it's because I've gone home to make love to the babysitter
—BEN AFFLECK, referring to wife Jennifer Garner, at home caring for their daughter Violet—while accepting the Supporting Actor of the Year award for Hollywoodland at the recent Hollywood Awards gala