Career: During his time on SNL, Ferrell impersonated US President George W Bush, singer Neil Diamond, US Vice-President Al Gore and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. By 2001, he was the highest paid cast member, earning $350,000 a season. He left the show in 2002 but has since returned as a guest host. During his time on SNL, he appeared in a number of films, including two Austin Powers movies (1997 and 1999), A Night at the Roxbury (1998), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) and Zoolander (2001). His first lead role was in Old School (2003). Since then, he has starred in Elf (2003), Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) and its 2013 sequel, The Producers (2005), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Blades of Glory (2007), Step Brothers (2008), The Other Guys (2010) and The Campaign (2012). He has also turned up on the small screen in The Office, Eastbound & Down and 30 Rock. More recently, he starred in the miniseries The Spoils of Babylon.

Career: Caan began appearing in off-Broadway plays before making his Broadway debut in Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole in 1961. He appeared in TV series such as The Untouchables, Wide Country, Dr Kildare, and Ben Casey, before landing his first film role in 1964 thriller Lady in a Cage. A year later, he landed his first starring role in Red Line 7000. More films followed in the 1960s, including El Dorado (1966), Countdown (1968), and The Rain People (1969). During the 1970s, he won acclaim in TV movie Brian's Song, and on the big screen in The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974), Rollerball (1975), Funny Lady (1975), A Bridge Too Far (1977), and Violent Streets (1981). After a break from acting, he returned in 1987 in Francis Ford Coppola's Gardens of Stone. He went on to star in Alien Nation (1988), Dick Tracy (1990), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Eraser (1996), Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), and Elf (2003). In 2003, he returned to TV in Las Vegas, a role he played for five seasons.

Career: Deschanel appeared in a guest role on the TV series Veronica's Closet before making her film debut in Lawrence Kasdan's 1999 comedy Mumford. She received rave reviews for her supporting role in her second film, director Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical Almost Famous. Over the next few years she played supporting roles in a series of films that included Manic, Big Trouble, and The Good Girl. She turned down several supporting roles and played her first lead role in All the Real Girls, to great acclaim, before appearing in box office smashes Elf, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Jim Carrey Yes Man. She has appeared in Bones alongside her sister Emily, and currently plays the lead role in sitcom New Girl.

Career: Steenburgen got her big break when she was discovered by Jack Nicholson and cast in the female lead of Goin' South (1978). She had a leading role in her second film, Time After Time (1979), and for her third film, Melvin and Howard (1980), she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Steenburgen's children persuaded her to play the role of Clara Clayton in Back to the Future Part III (1990) and she reprised the role for Back to the Future: The Animated Series. Throughout the 90s, she appeared in the films What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) and Nixon (1995) as well as the TV series Ink. From the 2000s onwards, she got recurring roles in Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock and Orange is the New Black. Steenburgen also went on to appear in the films Elf (2003), Step Brothers (2008), The Proposal (2009) and The Help (2011). Since 2015, she has played Gail Klosterman in The Last Man on Earth. Her recent film roles include Dean (2016) and The Discovery (2017).

Career: Dinklage's big break came in the 2003 film The Station Agent. In the same year, he starred alongside Will Ferrell in the seasonal favourite Elf (2003). He went on to have recurring roles on TV in Threshold and Nip/Tuck. His other film credits include Penelope (2006), Death at a Funeral (2007), and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). He is best known for playing Tyrion Lannister in the HBO series Game of Thrones, a role he has played since 2011.

Career: Favreau's first film role was alongside Sean Astin in Rudy (1993). A year later he appeared in an episode of Seinfeld. In 1996, he wrote and starred in Swingers (1996) alongside Vince Vaughn. In 1997 he had a recurring role as Monica Geller's boyfriend Pete Becker in Friends. In 2001, he teamed up again with Vince Vaughn in Made (2001), Favreau's directorial debut. Two years later, he enjoyed his first big success as a director for Elf. Since then, Favreau has continued to act, write and direct. He went on to direct Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), and Cowboys & Aliens (2011). More recently, he wrote, directed and starred in Chef (2014).