Career: Keaton's big break came when he landed a lead role in the short-lived sitcom Working Stiffs in 1979; it led to an appearance in the 1982 film Night Shift in 1982. Mr Mom, Johnny Dangerously and Gung Ho followed, but it was his role as the title character in the 1988 Tim Burton horror-comedy Beetlejuice that boosted him onto the A-list. He reunited with Burton in 1989 to make Batman, the highest-grossing film of the year. After an equally popular sequel to that film, Keaton remained in demand during the 1990s, appearing in Pacific Heights, One Good Cop, the star-studded Shakespeare adaptation Much Ado About Nothing and the thriller Desperate Measures. Since 2000, Keaton has provided the voices of Chick Hicks in Cars and Ken in Toy Story, and received major critical plaudits, including an Oscar nomination, for his role in Birdman.

Career: Nicholson made his film debut in low-budget drama The Cry Baby Killer in 1958, which began his long association with Roger Corman; Nicholson wrote, directed and appeared in several movies for the legendary film-maker. His breakthrough came in 1969 when he was cast in Easy Rider - it earned him the first of many Oscar nominations. Nicholson went on to receive Oscar nods for Five Easy Pieces, The Last Detail and Chinatown, before winning for One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. He would also go on to pick up statuettes for Terms of Endearment in 1984 and As Good as It Gets in 1998. Other notable movies include The Shining, Prizzi's Honor, Batman and About Schmidt.

Career: Basinger was constantly in demand throughout the 1970s, but hated modelling so began taking acting lessons and sang under the stage name Chelsea. In 1976, she moved to Los Angeles and appeared on TV, most notably in an episode of Charlie's Angels. Her movie debut came in 1981's Hard Country. She had bigger roles in Never Say Never Again, The Natural and Nine 1/2 Weeks - the latter made her a star. Basinger famously pulled out of the 1993 film Boxing Helena; the resulting court case cost her so much money that she was declared bankrupt. She won an Oscar for 1997's LA Confidential; other major projects include Batman, Wayne's World 2, The Getaway, Cellular, 8 Mile, Charlie St Cloud and Grudge Match.

Career: Hall soon made her mark on the catwalk and magazine covers, earning thousands of dollars a week. She became the face of Yves Saint Laurent perfume and Revlon cosmetics, and appeared on a Roxy Music album cover. She made her film debut in 1980's Urban Cowboy. During the late-1980s she largely put her modelling career to one side to concentrate on acting. Since then she's appeared in Batman, Cluedo, and reality series Kept. She has also appeared on stage in The Graduate, and holds the record for the most theatrical appearances in one night, having cropped up in Anything Goes, Blood Brothers, Fame, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Les Miserables, and Phantom of the Opera on February 26, 2004. In 2012, she partnered professional dancer Anton du Beke on Strictly Come Dancing. She was the second celebrity to be eliminated.

Career: Having seen Frankenweenie, comedian Paul Reubens chose Burton to direct his 1985 movie Pee Wee's Big Adventure. That paved the way for his first blockbuster, Beetlejuice. Burton was entrusted with the long-awaited Batman movie, and when that became a huge hit in 1989, he pressed on with personal project Edward Scissorhands. A commercial and critical success, he followed it up with stylish sequel Batman Returns. Although 1994 offering Ed Wood was a commercial disaster, his biopic of the eponymous film-maker remains one of his finest works and also won Martin Landau an Oscar. Other hits include The Nightmare Before Christmas (which he produced), Mars Attacks!, Sleepy Hollow, Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Alice in Wonderland was a huge commercial success when it was released in 2010.