Career: Jackman's first TV appearance was in Australian show Law of the Land. He then appeared in several more series before making his movie debut in 1999's Paperback Hero. He took over the role of Wolverine in 2000's X-Men after Dougray Scott dropped out, and has been a star ever since. He's played the character several more times since, but admits he will soon be too old for the role. Other movies include Van Helsing, Swordfish, The Prestige, The Fountain and Australia. Jackman has also maintained a musical theatre career, gaining acclaim for his roles in Oklahoma at London's National Theatre and on Broadway in The Boy from Oz. More recently he's appeared in sci-fi movie Real Steel, the Oscar-winning Les Miserables and drama Prisoners.

Career: Winslet started out on TV, with roles in Casualty and The Dark Season, but it was her film debut in Peter Jackson's acclaimed 1994 drama Heavenly Creatures that set her on the road to success. She gained her first Oscar nod for Sense and Sensibility a year later, and stayed with period pieces for Jude and Hamlet. In 1997 came James Cameron's Titanic, which gained her another Academy Award nomination. Since then, Winslet has featured in an array of films, including Hideous Kinky, Enigma, Iris, The Life of David Gale, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Finding Neverland. She finally won an Oscar for 2008's The Reader. Her recent films include Labor Day and Divergent.

Career: McKellen started out on stage, gaining acclaim in Britain and America, and winning a prestigious Tony award for his performance in the original Broadway production of Amadeus. He didn't become a household name until his film career took off with hits such as Scandal, Richard III, and X-Men and its sequels. He received Oscar nominations for Gods and Monsters and the first part of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. More recently, he reprised the role of Gandalf in The Hobbit movies. He continues to appear on stage.

Career: Shane lied about his age to get a job as a bluecoat entertainer in Pontins holiday camps, then played the alternative comedy circuit where he was noticed by the BBC. They cast him in short-lived sketch shows such as You Gotta Be Joking, and Up To Something. Daytime show Win, Lose or Draw followed before he got his big break with ITV's Lucky Numbers. His own show, The Shane Richie Experience, was a flop, but he had more success on stage in musicals Grease and Boogie Nights. Richie made his EastEnders debut in 2002 and soon became a firm favourite with fans. During a break from Albert Square, he played the lead role in one series of revamped comedy drama Minder.

Career: Reno's career began in French cinema, where he appeared in many of Luc Besson's films, including Besson's first short film, L'Avant dernier. All of the films they have done together have achieved critical and commercial success, including Nikita (1990), the English-language films The Big Blue (1988), and Léon (1994) which features a young Natalie Portman. Reno has starred in such high-profile American films as French Kiss (1995) with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline, Mission: Impossible (1996) with Tom Cruise, Ronin (1998) with Robert De Niro, and Godzilla (1998). Reno turned down the role of Agent Smith in the The Matrix. He has not neglected to work in French productions either—e.g., Les Visiteurs (1993) and The Crimson Rivers (2000). He also portrayed Captain Bezu Fache in the Ron Howard film The Da Vinci Code. More recent work includes Margaret, Les Seigneurs, and TV police drama Jo.

Career: Nighy honed his craft at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre in the 1970s. He made his TV debut in 1980 in sitcom Agony. His first film, Eye of the Needle, came a year later. He has juggled acclaimed stage appearances with TV and film work. His role as a randy lecturer in 1991's The Men's Room made him a heart-throb, but he didn't become familiar to audiences until a string of hits beginning with 1998's Still Crazy, followed by Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, State of Play, and Love Actually. He also starred in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, Stormbreaker and Underworld: Evolution. Other projects include Valkyrie, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, The Boat That Rocked, G-Force, Wild Target. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and playwright David Hare's Worricker trilogy.

Career: Serkis honed his skills at the Dukes Playhouse, Lancaster, in the mid-1980s, before touring with well-known companies, and appearing at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. Success on London stages in the early 1990s coincided with his breakthrough in TV and film. He has starred in an eclectic mix of projects, such as Stella Does Tricks (1996), Among Giants (1998), Topsy-Turvy (1999) and 24 Hour Party People (2002). He achieved global recognition for playing Gollum in Peter Jackson's epic Lord of the Rings trilogy. He worked with the filmmaker again on his King Kong (2005) remake. Other film work includes Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2009), Burke and Hare (2010), Brighton Rock (2011), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014). He is also set to appear in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015).

Career: Burke first became familiar to TV audiences via roles in sketches by such performers as Harry Enfield, and French and Saunders. Through her association with Enfield, she became a household name thanks to her portrayal of the grotesque Waynetta Slob. She followed that up with the sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme, and continued to notch up rave reviews in both comedy and serious work; arguably her best performance came in Gary Oldman's movie Nil By Mouth. Since 2001 she has largely refrained from acting and has thrown herself into theatre directing to great acclaim. However, in 2011, she appeared in the acclaimed film adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, alongside her old mate Oldman. A year later wrote and featured in the semi-autobiographical sitcom Walking and Talking.