The Taking of Pelham 123

Denzel Washington (Actor) .. Walter Garber

Born: December 28, 1954 in New York

Best Known For: A string of hit movies.

Early-life: Born Denzel Hayes Washington Jr on December 28, 1954, in Mount Vernon, New York. His father was a minister, his mother a beautician. He's the second of three children. After his parents divorced, Denzel was sent to a military academy, and claims its discipline saved him from a life of crime. On graduating from high school, he studied drama and journalism at Fordham University, after which he decided to concentrate on acting. He went on to study at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.

Career: Early in his career, Washington landed small parts on TV, and made his movie debut in 1981's Carbon Copy. A starring role in St Elsewhere led to bigger projects such as Cry Freedom, Glory (for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar), and Mo' Better Blues. The eponymous role of Malcolm X made him a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood in 1992. Since then, he's starred in Philadelphia, Crimson Tide, The Hurricane, Training Day (picking up a Best Actor Oscar for his role as a crooked cop), American Gangster, The Book of Eli, Crimson Tide, Unstoppable, Flight, 2 Guns and The Equalizer. He continues to act on stage whenever his schedule allows.

Quote: "I remain thankful for the gifts that I've been given and I try to use them in a good way."

Trivia: Washington is a devout Christian who considered becoming a preacher before turning to acting.

John Travolta (Actor) .. Ryder

Born: February 18, 1954 in New Jersey

Best Known For: Saturday Night Fever.

Early-life: John Joseph Travolta was born on February 18, 1954, in Englewood, New Jersey. He is the youngest of six children. His father owned a tyre-repair shop. Travolta made his stage debut in an amateur production of Who'll Save the Ploughboy? and enjoyed the experience so much, his mother enrolled him in acting, singing and dancing lessons. He decided he wanted to be a musical comedy star, quit school at 17 and landed jobs on stage in the musicals Grease and Over Here!

Career: Travolta eventually moved to Los Angeles to further his acting career. His big break came with sitcom Welcome Back Cotter; he also made an early movie appearance in Carrie. Saturday Night Fever and the film version of Grease proved he was a major force to be reckoned with. More big-screen outings followed but, despite the success of Look Who's Talking, a string of flops in the 1980s meant he fell out of favour until Quentin Tarantino cast him in Pulp Fiction in 1994. He's since made various hits, including Swordfish, Primary Colors and Get Shorty. Over the past few years he's appeared in Wild Hogs, Hairspray, From Paris with Love and The Taking of Pelham 123. He remains an A-list star.

Quote: "I have fame on the level of a Marilyn Monroe or an Elvis, but part of the reason I didn't go the way they did was because of my beliefs."

Trivia: Wed actress Kelly Preston in 1991.

John Turturro (Actor) .. Camonetti

James Gandolfini (Actor) .. The Mayor

Born: September 18, 1961 in New Jersey

Best Known For: Playing Tony Soprano.

Early-life: James Joseph Gandolfini Jr was born in Westwood, New Jersey, on September 18, 1961. His family are of Italian descent - his parents spoke their native language at home and his grandparents couldn't speak English. He attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, before moving to New York, where he managed nightclubs and worked as a landscape gardener. He first became hooked on acting when a friend invited him to attend a drama class, and went on to study for two years at the Gately Poole Conservatory.

Career: Gandolfini's early film outings included roles in True Romance (1993), Get Shorty (1995) and She's So Lovely (1997), but his breakthrough came on the small screen in 1999 when he began playing gangster boss Tony in HBO's acclaimed TV series The Sopranos. He won three Emmys, two Screen Actors Guild awards, and a Golden Globe for the role. High-profile movie offers followed and he went on to star in The Mexican (2001), The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), The Last Castle (2001), In the Loop (2009), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Enough Said (2013) and The Drop (2014). He died on June 19, 2013, during a holiday in Italy.

Quote: "I'm a neurotic mess. I'm really basically just like a 260-pound Woody Allen."

Trivia: In December 2013, a borough in New Jersey renamed its main thoroughfare James Gandolfini Way.

Luis Guzman (Actor) .. Phil Ramos

Victor Gojcaj (Actor) .. Bashkim

Michael Rispoli (Actor) .. John Johnson

Ramon Rodriguez (Actor) .. Delgado

Tony Scott (Director)

01:25 am - 02:25 am, Monday, December 29 on ITV4 (26)

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