The Apprentice: LA Says Buh-Bye to Tim Urban

When Tim Urban got kicked off The Apprentice: LA last week, I was a bit bummed. Do I think he would have won? No, I don't think so. But I think he got a raw deal with everyone ganging up on him. TV Guide sat down with him to dish about his on-screen romance with Nicole, and more behind-the-scenes dirt.

TVGuide.com: What's the saying? "'Tis better to have loved and lost The Apprentice?" Is that how it goes?
Tim Urban: Yeah, I think so! [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Are you regretting trying to help Nicole by whispering through the hedges a few weeks ago?
Tim: I don't regret much about the Nicole situation, but that was pretty stupid. It wasn't even necessary, I was just being emotional and being an idiot. I shouldn't have done that because this is a game where everyone tries to smell blood all the time on anyone, and that suddenly became a huge, bloody wound. Suddenly the team was like, "Oh, look at this. This is such an easy attack now!"

TVGuide.com: But on the flip side, Trump had only a week earlier told Nicole that you were "not loyal" by not fighting to keep her on Arrow.
Tim: Yeah, I don't know how you can do both. [Laughs] Somehow I was in big trouble for being loyal to the team over Nicole, and I was in big trouble for being loyal to Nicole over the team.

TVGuide.com: What was more awkward: Trying to speak to Nicole's visiting mom through the hedges, or watching yourself do that on TV?
Tim: Um, it was pretty awkward on TV, but it was more awkward in person. Yeah, that was... uncomfortable.

TVGuide.com: Getting to the tasks at hand, does anyone else actually come up with ideas on Arrow? Because they tend to only show us your grand ideas and everyone climbing on board.
Tim: To be honest, not really. We do have brainstorming sessions, but for five straight weeks — except for Soft Scrub, when Nicole wrote the story — they went with my ideas. In my mind, I was thinking that if I can get to the finals like this, I'm going to look like a clear winner, but it could also get me fired on any task. High risk, high reward.

TVGuide.com: What was your Plan B if they weren't able to get you your suit in time for the SmartMouth presentation?
Tim: I was going to go out in my pajamas, since all our people were in pajamas. We had written something into Stef's speech like, "Look at Tim. Tim is a typical person with morning breath.... " We were going to spin it that way.

TVGuide.com: Frank and James are now the only two guys left on the show. Do you think either one of them has a chance? Or are the women this season simply too dominant?
Tim: I can see why Frank made it far, because he does a really good job on a simple task, every task, and he never has a chance to get fired because nothing he ever does could get him fired for. He's just building things and getting things. But Frank, I don't see him being the winner. It'd be hard for Trump to look Frank in the eye and say, "You're hired." James has a shot, but there are a lot of strong girls. They're 4-for-4....

TVGuide.com: How do you think Nicole measures up against Kristine and Heidi?
Tim: People look at Heidi and Kristine as these professionals and they might not be taking Nicole seriously, but she's a force on that team, I think. She's very good, and because she has this boisterous Italian personality, I'm not sure that her strengths are coming through. But she has a shot just like any of them.

TVGuide.com: What was your favorite reward?
Tim: I've got to say Snoop [Dogg]. The fact is, they only have a little time for rewards, and they had to show Frank and James rapping, because that's high comedy, but I had a chance to sit down at the piano and just play, and Snoop sat there next to me humming along....

TVGuide.com: And then, what? Everyone started passing around a blunt?
Tim: He actually pulled out a joint. He said, "I was told not to do this but I'm getting the shakes, so I have to," and he lit it up. He then blew smoke into the camera and said, "Trump, you're fired." [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: I gotta ask: What's the status of your relationship with Nicole?
Tim: We're still together, if you can believe that. Ten months later. I just got off the phone with her to call you. You're looking at the rockiest time we ever had, but we had kind of made up by the time I got fired. I told her that I was pretty angry and she expressed that she was kind of angry, but then we said, "Let's not let this be a huge thing." After the whole thing was over, we realized that we were really quite tight, and it has lasted.

TVGuide.com: Where are you two geographically?
Tim: She's in Chicago and I live in L.A., so it's not ideal. But we've been going back and forth a lot, and we took a trip together in the summer....

TVGuide.com: You know the Donald is just licking his chops at the prospect of an "Apprentice Wedding" special....
Tim: Yeah, I know. [Laughs] But I don't think I like Trump nowadays, so....

TVGuide.com: What's next for you?
Tim: Music. Music, music, music. That's why it was a little silly that I was trying to get a job with Trump, when really what I want is to be a composer. I really like the show, and I would have taken it because I'm competitive, but music is my thing. This great composer, Glen Ballard, and I just finished an album together, a bunch of my piano music, and it's unique, cool stuff. The actual job probably would have messed up my career more than it would have helped it, but... I had a good run. You can get the CD on my website, TimUrban.com, or on iTunes.

Photo from TV Guide.