Career: After being discharged from service, Carradine became a commercial artist in New York, then found fame on Broadway in a number of productions. He moved back to Hollywood in the mid-1960s. Little-seen projects such as TV series Shane and movie Bus Riley's Back in Town followed. He became a household name thanks to long-running programme Kung Fu, playing a role originally earmarked for Bruce Lee. The same year, 1972, he starred in Martin Scorsese's Boxcar Bertha. Films since include The Long Goodbye, Gray Lady Down, The Long Riders and Bird on a Wire before finding a new generation of fans in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill movies. He continued to act until his death in a Bangkok hotel room in 2009.

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.