Career: After deciding to become an actor, Stallone struggled to find decent roles. After running out of money and being made homeless he appeared in soft-porn flick The Party at Kitty and Stud's and had bit parts in several mainstream movies before writing Rocky. He persuaded producers Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler to not only buy it, but also let him star in it. The film was a massive success, won three Oscars and was followed by five sequels. He's directed several other movies and had hits with the Rambo series, Cliffhanger and Cop Land. Other films include a remake of Get Carter, Paradise Alley and Judge Dredd. More recently he's starred alongside other macho stars in The Expendables and its sequel. He was also behind TV series The Contender.

Career: Lundgren made the move into acting and had a bit part in the 007 adventure A View to a Kill in 1985, but it was Rocky IV the same year that made him a household name. Lundgren also played He-Man in the movie Masters of the Universe (1987) and was the first actor to play Marvel comics hero The Punisher on the big screen in 1989. Other notable projects include 1992 blockbuster Universal Soldier and Keanu Reeves' sci-fi flop Johnny Mnemonic (1995). He's spent the past few years making a string of low-budget action adventures, including The Peacekeeper (1997), Hidden Agenda (2001) and The Defender (2004), appeared in Sylvester Stallone's action flick The Expendables (2010) and its two sequels and returned to the Universal Soldier franchise for two sequels. In 2013, he began starring in American TV action drama SAF3.

Career: Nielsen's involvement with Stallone led her to be cast in his movies Rocky IV and Cobra. She followed those with Beverly Hills Cop II in 1987. Since then, her film career has been patchy at best, with roles in such lacklustre movies as 976-Evil 2: The Astral Factor, Chained Heat II, Galaxis and Snowboard Academy. Away from acting, she has hosted several TV series across Europe and released numerous dance records and performed duets with Euro rockers Falco and transvestite RuPaul. Away from acting, she has appeared on a number of reality TV shows, including Celebrity Big Brother in 2005, alongside her former mother-in-law Jackie Stallone.