Career: Made his movie debut in 1970's Hercules in New York, and gained a Golden Globe for Best Newcomer in 1976's Stay Hungry, but didn't become a star until Conan the Barbarian in 1982.The 1980s proved a successful decade thanks to hits Raw Deal, Predator, The Running Man, The Terminator and Twins, a rare foray into comedy. Terminator 2, True Lies and Junior followed these in the 1990s. In the latter years of his career he suffered a number of flops, and Terminator 3 was his last moderate hit. Today he is best known as the former Governor of California, although he has resurrected his big-screen career with roles in The Expendables 2, The Last Stand and The Tomb.

Career: Cameron's big break came when he wrote and directed The Terminator (1984), which was a box-office success. Made for $6.5million, it made more than $78million worldwide. His next project was Aliens (1986), which was also a box-office hit. His next project, The Abyss (1989), considerably ran over budget but it was another success for Cameron. He returned to the Terminator franchise in 1991 when he directed Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to the lead role and the film was far more popular than the original. Made for $100million, it grossed more than $500million. For his next project, Cameron made the move into comedy when he directed Schwarzenegger in True Lies (1994), another box-office success. Cameron's next film was the most expensive movie ever made at the time but the gamble paid off when Titanic went on to clear more than $2billion at the box office. His next film was bigger in lots of ways. Avatar (2009) had a budget of more than $300million and composed almost entirely of computer-generated animation. It broke several box office records during its initial theatrical run and went on to gross more than $2.7billion worldwide. In 2013, Cameron announced his intention to film three sequels to Avatar simultaneously.