Career: Within five years of his big-screen debut, Cruise was one of the hottest actors of his generation, having starred in the likes of Risky Business and Top Gun. The likes of Rain Man, The Color of Money, Interview with the Vampire and Days of Thunder followed. He has also turned his hand to producing and made the smart move of taking a share of several of his film's profits, making him one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood. Recent hits include Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Jack Reacher, Oblivion and Edge of Tomorrow. He has been Oscar-nominated three times, for his performances in Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire and Magnolia, but has yet to win. His next major film is Mission: Impossible 5.

Career: Moore made her movie debut in 1981's Choices, and had a regular part in the soap opera General Hospital for a year. Supporting roles in Blame It on Rio and No Small Affair followed before Brat Pack movie St Elmo's Fire made her a star in 1985. Five years later she was propelled onto Hollywood's A-list by Ghost, and became the first actress to be paid $10million. Big movies since include A Few Good Men, Indecent Proposal and Disclosure. She hasn't enjoyed the same level of success for 20 years, although she did produce the Austin Powers movies. More recently she's appeared in Charlie's Angels II: Full Throttle, Mr Brooks and Margin Call.

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: He made his film debut alongside his father in the 1983 movie Max Dugan Returns, then took the lead in The Bay Boy. Although it wasn't a hit, the movie was well received, and led to bigger roles, including Stand By Me, The Lost Boys, and the Young Guns films. The 1990s weren't as successful, although highlights were A Few Good Men and A Time to Kill. He also directed the movies Last Light, Truth or Consequences, NM, and Woman Wanted, before starring in and producing the hugely successful 24, for which he won Golden Globe and Emmy awards. He's also appeared in the movies Phone Booth, Taking Lives, The Sentinel, Mirrors, and the TV series Touch.

Career: Bacon's professional debut came in an off-Broadway production of Forty Deuce, for which he won a coveted Obie award. His first Broadway play, Slab Boys, came in 1983, five years after he made his debut movie Animal House. Other early projects include films Starting Over, Diner and Friday the 13th, as well as soap opera The Guiding Light. Footloose made him a star in 1984, but he refused to be typecast in the teen idol roles. Initially, his career stalled, but over the years he has won widespread recognition as a reliable character actor. His CV includes JFK, The River Wild, A Few Good Men, Apollo 13, Hollow Man, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Frost/Nixon and X-Men: First Class. Away from acting, he sings in the band The Bacon Brothers, with his sibling Michael.

Career: Bitten by the acting bug, Gooding Jr landed roles on TV shows such as Hill Street Blues and MacGyver in the late 1980s. In 1991, he landed a part in the film Boyz n the Hood, and it launched him on the road to stardom. Small but important roles in the likes of A Few Good Men and Lightning Jack led to bigger parts in Outbreak and Losing Isaiah. However, it was the 1996 smash Jerry Maguire, which saw him win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, that really put him on the map. Since then, his career has been patchy, with movies such as Pearl Harbor and Rat Race alongside meatier fare such as As Good As It Gets and American Gangster. He continues to be an in-demand actor.

Career: In 1990, Wyle landed his first professional role in TV movie Blind Faith. A lean spell followed, and he was forced to make ends meet taking odd jobs until, two years later, he appeared in A Few Good Men alongside Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson. Wyle shunned parts in TV series in the hope of steering clear of typecasting - until he received the script for ER in 1994. He left the series 10 years later. Now a household name, he's branched out into films, including low-budget projects such as The Myth of Fingerprints, White Oleander and Donnie Darko. His recent films include W., Nothing But the Truth, and An American Affair. He returned to the small screen in 2011 as Tom Mason, the lead role in sci-fi drama Falling Skies.

Career: Had bit parts in movies The Hot Rock, Death Wish, Lemmings and The Long Riders. While working on 1982 film Million Dollar Infield, he met director Rob Reiner. They joined forces with Michael McKean and Harry Shearer to write spoof rock documentary, This Is Spinal Tap, which became one of the biggest cult hits of the 1980s, and Guest re-teamed with Reiner for acclaimed fantasy The Princess Bride. He also had a bit part in the director's 1992 offering A Few Good Men. Guest also co-wrote, directed and starred in Waiting for Guffman, DOA, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration. More recently, he's appeared in Ben Stiller comedy Night at the Museum 2 and made a cameo in The Invention of Lying.

Career: In the 1980s, Reiner established himself as the director of a number of successful Hollywood films, including This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Stand by Me (1986) and When Harry Met Sally (1989). His directing credits also include Misery (1990), A Few Good Men (1992), The American President (1995), Rumor Has It (2005), The Bucket List (2007) and And So It Goes (2014). He has also made cameos in a number of films and TV shows, including Postcards from the Edge (1990), The First Wives Club (1996), Frasier, Primary Colors (1998), 30 Rock, The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) and New Girl.