Career: After several TV roles, Hanks made the transition to movies and became one of the biggest stars of the past three decades. His breakthrough came in 1984's Splash, and was followed by hit after hit, including Bachelor Party and Dragnet. When he took the lead in Oscar-nominated Big in 1988, he transformed a simple comedy into something much more powerful, before truly proving his acting credentials with an Oscar-winning turn as an Aids-afflicted laweyer in Philadeplhia. He gave terrific turns in romantic comedies like Sleepless in Seattle, then another Oscar followed for Forrest Gump. Many expected him to garner a third for Saving Private Ryan. He has been a successful director of several projects and helped bring iconic TV projects like Band of Brothers to the screen. Recent hits include The Da Vinci Code and its follow-up, and the Toy Story films.

Career: Allen moved to Los Angeles and became a regular at The Comedy Store. His big break came in 1991 when he played the lead role in American sitcom Home Improvement. The hugely popular show ran for eight seasons until 1999 and earned Allen a Golden Globe. During his time on Home Improvement, he starred on the big screen in The Santa Clause (1994) and Jungle 2 Jungle (1997). In 1995, he voiced Buzz Lightyear for the first time in Toy Story (1995). Since then, Allen has appeared in two Santa Clause sequels and voiced Buzz Lightyear in two more Toy Story films and several specials. His other film credits include Galaxy Quest (1999), Joe Somebody (2001), Big Trouble (2003), Christmas with the Kranks (2004) and Wild Hogs (2007). He returned to TV in 2011 when he began starring in the sitcom Last Man Standing.

Career: Cusack got a number of small roles in films while she was studying but her big break came when she appeared in the TV series Saturday Night Live for one season. After that, she appeared on Broadcast News (1987) and Working Girl (1988). For the latter, she was Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actress. She then went on to appear in such films as Addams Family Values (1993) and Grosse Pointe Blank (1997). Cusack got her second Oscar nomination, as well as a Golden Globe nomination, for her appearance in In & Out (1997). She has become well known to family audiences for being the voice of Jessie in the Toy Story films. Between 2011 and 2015 she appeared in the US version of the TV series Shameless as Sheila Jackson. Since then, her acting roles have included TV show A Series of Unfortunate Events and the film Snatched (2017).

Career: Determined to become a serious actor, Grammer spent two years at New York's Juilliard School. He then worked in theatre before making his TV debut in 1983 miniseries Kennedy. He had a stint in soap Another World, and in 1984 began playing Dr Frasier Crane in Cheers. After Cheers ended in 1993, he launched the hugely popular spin-off series Frasier. In addition to starring in 264 editions of the sitcom, he directed more than 30 episodes. Grammer has also starred in X-Men: The Last Stand, short-lived sitcoms Back to You and Hank, and the dramas Boss and Partners. He is also the voice of Sideshow Bob in The Simpsons.

Career: Throughout the 1970s, Ratzenberger performed across the UK with Ray Hassett as comedy theatrical duo Sal's Meat Market. He made his film debut in The Ritz (1976). Minor roles followed in the likes of Superman (1978), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Gandhi (1982). His big break came in 1982 when he began playing a postal worker in the hugely popular American sitcom Cheers. The show ran until 1993 and Ratzenberger picked up two Emmy nominations during the run. He made a guest appearance in Frasier as Cliff Clavin. He is also well known for voicing Pixar characters, including Hamm the Piggy Bank in the Toy Story series, Tom the construction worker in Up, and Earl in The Good Dinosaur.

Career: Lasseter's work on a test project mixing traditional and computer animation led to him being sacked by the Disney Studios. He went to work for Lucasfilm Computer Graphics and his first project was the computer animated short The Adventures of Andre and Wally B. Lucasfilm Computer Graphics was spun off as a separate business in 1986 with Steve Jobs as its majority shareholder and became known as Pixar. Over the next 10 years, company evolved into an animation studio, and Lasseter was the executive producer on all of Pixar's films and associated projects. In addition, he directed Toy Story (1995), A Bug's Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Cars (2006) and Cars 2 (2011). He won a Special Achievement Academy Award for Toy Story, the first ever animated feature film. When Disney bought Pixar in 2006, Lasseter was named chief creative officer of both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He also helps design attractions for Disney Parks.