Career: After several TV roles, Hanks made the transition to movies and became one of the biggest stars of the past three decades. His breakthrough came in 1984's Splash, and was followed by hit after hit, including Bachelor Party and Dragnet. When he took the lead in Oscar-nominated Big in 1988, he transformed a simple comedy into something much more powerful, before truly proving his acting credentials with an Oscar-winning turn as an Aids-afflicted laweyer in Philadeplhia. He gave terrific turns in romantic comedies like Sleepless in Seattle, then another Oscar followed for Forrest Gump. Many expected him to garner a third for Saving Private Ryan. He has been a successful director of several projects and helped bring iconic TV projects like Band of Brothers to the screen. Recent hits include The Da Vinci Code and its follow-up, and the Toy Story films.

Career: Allen moved to Los Angeles and became a regular at The Comedy Store. His big break came in 1991 when he played the lead role in American sitcom Home Improvement. The hugely popular show ran for eight seasons until 1999 and earned Allen a Golden Globe. During his time on Home Improvement, he starred on the big screen in The Santa Clause (1994) and Jungle 2 Jungle (1997). In 1995, he voiced Buzz Lightyear for the first time in Toy Story (1995). Since then, Allen has appeared in two Santa Clause sequels and voiced Buzz Lightyear in two more Toy Story films and several specials. His other film credits include Galaxy Quest (1999), Joe Somebody (2001), Big Trouble (2003), Christmas with the Kranks (2004) and Wild Hogs (2007). He returned to TV in 2011 when he began starring in the sitcom Last Man Standing.

Career: Cusack got a number of small roles in films while she was studying but her big break came when she appeared in the TV series Saturday Night Live for one season. After that, she appeared on Broadcast News (1987) and Working Girl (1988). For the latter, she was Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actress. She then went on to appear in such films as Addams Family Values (1993) and Grosse Pointe Blank (1997). Cusack got her second Oscar nomination, as well as a Golden Globe nomination, for her appearance in In & Out (1997). She has become well known to family audiences for being the voice of Jessie in the Toy Story films. Between 2011 and 2015 she appeared in the US version of the TV series Shameless as Sheila Jackson. Since then, her acting roles have included TV show A Series of Unfortunate Events and the film Snatched (2017).

Career: Keaton's big break came when he landed a lead role in the short-lived sitcom Working Stiffs in 1979; it led to an appearance in the 1982 film Night Shift in 1982. Mr Mom, Johnny Dangerously and Gung Ho followed, but it was his role as the title character in the 1988 Tim Burton horror-comedy Beetlejuice that boosted him onto the A-list. He reunited with Burton in 1989 to make Batman, the highest-grossing film of the year. After an equally popular sequel to that film, Keaton remained in demand during the 1990s, appearing in Pacific Heights, One Good Cop, the star-studded Shakespeare adaptation Much Ado About Nothing and the thriller Desperate Measures. Since 2000, Keaton has provided the voices of Chick Hicks in Cars and Ken in Toy Story, and received major critical plaudits, including an Oscar nomination, for his role in Birdman.

Career: Throughout the 1970s, Ratzenberger performed across the UK with Ray Hassett as comedy theatrical duo Sal's Meat Market. He made his film debut in The Ritz (1976). Minor roles followed in the likes of Superman (1978), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Gandhi (1982). His big break came in 1982 when he began playing a postal worker in the hugely popular American sitcom Cheers. The show ran until 1993 and Ratzenberger picked up two Emmy nominations during the run. He made a guest appearance in Frasier as Cliff Clavin. He is also well known for voicing Pixar characters, including Hamm the Piggy Bank in the Toy Story series, Tom the construction worker in Up, and Earl in The Good Dinosaur.