Career: Brosnan's first roles came on stage at York Theatre Royal. He was chosen by Tennessee Williams to star in the West End debut of his play The Red Devil Battery Sign. He followed by his movie debut in Resting Rough in 1979. He made appearances in The Professionals, Hammer House of Horror, The Long Good Friday and Manions of America before moving to Hollywood. He was in the TV show Remington Steele for five years, which prevented him taking over from Roger Moore as 007 in 1986. Low-budget movies followed until Bond came calling again in 1995. His last 007 movie, Die Another Day, was released in 2002. He runs his own production company, Irish DreamTime. Among his best non-Bond movies are The Thomas Crown Affair remake, The Matador, Seraphim Falls, The Ghost, Love is All You Need, The Love Punch, A Long Way Down and Mamma Mia!

Career: Pryce built up his acting CV with roles in two TV films directed by Stephen Frears, Daft as a Brush and Playthings. In 1975, he played the lead role in the Trevor Griffiths play Comedians. He reprised the role on Broadway and won a Tony Award for his performance. He made his film debut a year later in Voyage of the Damned and continued to be a regular stage performer. He won an Oliver Award in 1980 for his performance in the title role of Hamlet. His breakthrough on the big screen came in 1985 when he starred in Terry Gilliam's Brazil. After making the move into musicals, Pryce won an Olivier Award and a Tony Award for his role as the Engineer in Miss Saigon. He would go on to star in stage revivals of Oliver! and My Fair Lady. His film credits include Jumpin' Jack Flash, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Glengarry Glen Ross, Carrington, Evita, Tomorrow Never Dies and the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

Career: Yeoh came to prominence in the West thanks to 007 epic Tomorrow Never Dies. She went on to star in Ang Lee's Oscar winning martial arts drama Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (for which she was Bafta nominated), Memoirs of a Geisha, and also played an astronaut in Danny Boyle's sci-fi thriller Sunshine. Other big screen offerings include The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Babylon AD and she will be heard in 2011 in the Kung Fu Panda 2. She has also worked as a jury member at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival and is a supporter of Save China's Tigers project.

Career: After appearing in TV series Capitol in 1982, she landed a regular role in The Love Boat. In 1989, Hatcher made her film debut in The Big Picture and also appeared in the higher-profile Tango and Cash. She worked steadily on TV and in films until finally becoming a household name starring as Lois Lane in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which ran for four years. Since then, she has appeared in Heaven's Prisoners, Spy Kids and Momentum. She also toured on stage in Cabaret, playing Sally Bowles, before returning to the small screen in the hugely successful series Desperate Housewives, for which she won a Best Actress Golden Globe in 2005. Her autobiography, Burnt Toast: And Other Philosophies of Life, was published in 2006. She has also leant her dulcet tones to animated feature, Coraline, which was released in 2009.

Career: Dench made her professional debut with the Old Vic Company before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961, and has frequently worked on stage ever since. She became a household name in the 1980s thanks to sitcom A Fine Romance, for which she won a Bafta. She's also won the award for Four in the Morning, Talking to a Stranger, Iris, The Last of the Blonde Bombshells, Shakespeare In Love (for which she picked up an Oscar too), A Handful of Dust, Mrs Brown and A Room With a View. Other notable productions include Chocolat, Notes on a Scandal, J Edgar, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel, and several Bond movies, including Skyfall, in which she bowed out as M.