Career: De Niro made a handful of films in the 1960s and early 1970s, but it wasn't until 1973's Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets (his first collaboration with Martin Scorsese) that his career took off. He received an Oscar for The Godfather Part II a year later and was nominated Academy Awards for Taxi Driver and The Deer Hunter, and took home his second Oscar for Raging Bull. The King of Comedy, Once Upon A Time in America, Brazil, The Mission, Angel Heart and The Untouchables followed. Over the past few decades, De Niro has made crowd pleasers such as Cape Fear, Casino, Heat, Meet the Parents and Analyze This, as well as directing A Bronx Tale and The Good Shepherd. He gave a fabulous comic performance in the fantasy movie Stardust, before starring alongside fellow big-screen icon Al Pacino in cop thriller Righteous Kill. His more recent films have included Silver Linings Playbook and The Family.

Career: Messing appeared in various stage productions before landing a role in NYPD Blue in 1994. A year later, she made her movie debut alongside Keanu Reeves in A Walk in the Clouds and starred in short-lived sitcom Ned and Stacy. Sci-fi drama Prey failed to get her noticed, but she hit the big time in 1998 when she landed a lead role in sitcom Will & Grace. She won an Emmy in 2003 for her portrayal of Grace. Messing has also starred on the big screen in The Mothman Prophecies, Hollywood Ending and Along Came Polly. Most recently she starred in comedy drama The Starter Wife, which started out as a miniseries and ran for 10 episodes when it was turned into a series. Her recent work includes the musical TV drama Smash and comedy drama The Mysteries of Laura.