‘The New Celebrity Apprentice’: Schwarzenegger Reveals His Frontrunners

The New Celebrity Apprentice - Season 15
THE NEW CELEBRITY APPRENTICE -- "In Here You Call Me Governor" Episode 1501 -- Pictured: (Top row l-r) Matt Iseman, Laila Ali,Ricky Williams, Porsha Williams, Lisa Leslie, Boy George, Eric Dickerson, Chael Sonnen (Bottom Row l-r) Nicole Polizzi, Carson Kressley, Brooke Burke, Vince Neil, Kyle Richards, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carnie Wilson, Jon Lovitz, Carrie Keagan -- (Photo by: Luis Trinh/NBC)

New boss Arnold Schwarzenegger shares his performance reviews of this season’s The New Celebrity Apprentice standouts.

The Celebrity Apprentice - Season 15

Boy George, musician
“He’s so quick with his thinking and talking. He’s an ass-kicking kind of guy who got in there and really played well with others. I love his music, and it’s great to see him coming back with his career in a serious way and getting rediscovered.”

The Celebrity Apprentice - Season 15

Jon Lovitz, comedian
“I know Jon very well. We’ve hung out a lot, so I was very pleased he was on the show. He carved out his own niche. He walked in on the first day with a briefcase in one arm and a little dog in the other. I was like, ‘What the hell is going on?’”

The Celebrity Apprentice - Season 15

Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, reality-TV star
“Snooki was so worried about image and wanted to be taken seriously. I told her that all she had to do was be herself and people would see very quickly that’s she’s a smart girl.”

The Celebrity Apprentice - Season 15

Vince Neil, lead singer of Mötley Crüe
“With his background as a rock star, he was obviously a very talented performer. But he was also a surprisingly deep-thinking guy—and very good at coming up with marketing themes!”

The Celebrity Apprentice - Season 15

Lisa Leslie, former WNBA basketball player
“I’d heard a lot about Lisa as an athlete, but I did not know she would be so talented with her business sense. She’s very well-read and versatile, so she takes on a lot of leadership roles.”

The Celebrity Apprentice - Season 15

Carson Kressley, fashion expert, Queer Eye alum
“We had the greatest time together! He played his role to the hilt and was just hilarious. Carson can talk about any given subject at any given time—he’ll just rattle off 50 million things.”

The New Celebrity Apprentice, Series premiere Monday, Jan. 2, 8/7c, NBC @ApprenticeNBC