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: Carlyle co-founded the Raindog theatre group in Glasgow in 1990 and his big break came in the same year when director Ken Loach cast him in the film Riff-Raff. Four years later, he won a Scottish Bafta for his performance as murderer Albie Kinsella in a three-part episode of Cracker. The lead role in Hamish Macbeth followed in 1995. He caught Hollywood's attention after appearing in Trainspotting and The Full Monty. He has also starred in Plunkett and Macleane, Angela's Ashes, The Beach, Bond film The World Is Not Enough, and The 51st State, as well as 28 Weeks Later.

Career: Richards moved to Los Angeles where she gained more modelling work, but she soon learnt that, at five feet six inches, she wasn't tall enough. She began attending acting classes and made her TV debut in an episode of Life Goes On in 1990. Her first film was 1991's Loaded Weapon 1, which was followed by numerous forgettable projects. Starship Troopers made her a star in 1997. Since then she's appeared in Wild Things, Drop Dead Gorgeous, The World Is Not Enough, Scary Movie 3, and Love Actually. She posed nude for a Playboy pictorial in 2004, and semi-nude - for charity - in another magazine shoot in 2006. Richards made two seasons of reality show Denise Richards: It's Complicated, starting in 2008. She failed to find her feet on the 2009 run of Dancing with the Stars, becoming the second contestant to be eliminated. She played the recurring role of Debra in American comedy drama Blue Mountain State, which ran during 2010 and into 2011.

Career: Coltrane first captured the public's attention as a member of the Comic Strip team in 1982, co-writing and co-directing the series as well as starring. He'd done the rounds as a stand-up comedian, but realised he wanted to pursue a career in acting. He has proven himself to be capable of doing straight roles and comedy, winning three Best Actor Bafta Awards for crime drama series Cracker. He has also won roles in big-budget movies, including two outings as a Bond villain in Goldeneye and The World Is Not Enough, and more recently as Hagrid in the Harry Potter films as well as voicing roles in several children's animations. Robbie received an OBE for services to drama in 2006.

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.

Career: Cleese's showbiz break came with The Frost Report. By 1969, he and Chapman were working alongside Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam on Monty Python's Flying Circus, which made them household names. He left the group in 1972, although they reunited for several films. In 1975, Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth wrote and starred in Fawlty Towers, which was a worldwide hit. Projects since include A Fish Called Wanda, which he co-wrote, two Bond movies, and two Harry Potter films. He has also appeared in 3rd Rock from the Sun and Will & Grace. His stand-up show, The Alimony Tour, proved hugely popular in 2010; his most recent film, God Loves Caviar, was released in 2012.