Nick Lachey Gets Rough

05/13/2004 at 06:00 AM EDT

Tough Love
Nick Lachey may seem like a sweet, all-American boy-next-door, but inside him lurks an action star a la Bruce Willis, he tells us. "I'd like to play the roughed-up, torn-apart, bloodied hero. I hope I'd be able to handle myself with a gun," says Lachey, 30, who is shooting a TV pilot with Gina Gershon called Hot Mama. "Action villain would be pretty fun at some point too." So how convincing a bad boy could he be? "Jessica will tell you: I can play the villain," he says. "I'm like the enforcer of the house, the disciplinarian." Isn't that cute?

Which Is His "Day" Job?
For the early to bed, early to rise folks out there ... you may not know that Late Late Show host and Minnesota native Craig Kilborn is a rabid Timberwolves fan. And, starting Thursday, he'll moonlight (or is it daylight in his case?) as a regular contributor on NBA TV as part of the channel's nightly show Destination Finals. Not only will Kilborn share his opinions on the T-Wolves/Kings series, but he'll also talk about a bet he made on national TV with Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof, who appeared on his show this week. If the T-Wolves win the series, the Maloofs will wash Kilborn's car in very short cut-offs; if the Kings win, Kilborn will serve beverages and park cars at the Maloofs' Palms Casino Hotel in Las Vegas. Hmm – suddenly we find ourselves rooting for the Kings ...

A Man of Fewer Words
There's been so much talk about Brad Pitt beefing up and wearing warrior garb to play Achilles in the epic Troy (opening Friday) – not to mention his nude scene – but what about his, you know, acting? "Brad's way of acting is very different from people I've worked with before," says director Wolfgang Petersen. "For starters, he was very keen about cutting his dialogue to a minimum. Normally, actors try to get their dialogue to a maximum. They want to talk a lot. But he wanted to talk little, and it helped convey the magic of Achilles." Magic, indeed.

Apprentice No More
Now that the cameras are off, Apprentice winner Bill Rancic is going back to being a working stiff. (Well, not really – he's raking in $250,000 working for The Donald.) We caught up with him recently in Toronto.
So is the honeymoon period over?
For me, this is what I want to do. I have an insatiable appetite to learn. Whether I stay on for many years or whether I move on, at the end of the year the knowledge I will have gained is going to be incredible.

What will happen when the year is up?
I don't look at this as a 20-year commitment. The goal of this program is not to be a 20-year employee. It's to learn and then to go out and do it on your own. I'm an entrepreneur. Ever since I was 10 years old I've had that fire in the belly. And this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me.

How do you respond to the nay-sayers who claim your role in the Chicago project is more show than substance?
When you're on top there are always going to be a few negative people that want to put you down. I welcome their criticism and hopefully I'll prove them wrong. I started my business Cigars Around the World in 1995. I was 24. People thought I was crazy. And that fueled my fire even more.

There have been rumors about a spin-off produced by Mark Burnett.
There have been some talks about it. ... I would definitely entertain it. There'd be a lot of pressure, but I thrive under pressure.

Are you expecting an invitation to Trump's wedding?
Yeah, I hope so!

Caught in the act
Recently spotted:
• Anna Kournikova, dining at South Beach steakhouse Prime 112 with Enrique Iglesias and a group of friends to celebrate the singer's birthday. A spy tells us Kournikova was not exactly nice to the staff. The group arrived around 11 p.m. and asked to be seated in a private area, and were the last to leave at 2 a.m.

• By KC BAKER, ANNE MARIE CRUZ, MARK DAGOSTINO and HEIDI STASESON