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: After graduating from Rada, he made his West End debut in Another Country and enjoyed success in Northern Ireland with his appearances in three Belfast-set Play for Today productions. He then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. Despite some big hits, he disliked the organisation's structure and so set up his own theatre company. TV series Fortunes of War made him a star in the UK, but it was his film version of Henry V that catapulted him to global fame. Other films include Peter's Friends, Dead Again, Love's Labours Lost, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. More recently, he's appeared in TV dramas Conspiracy, Shackleton, 10 Days to War and Wallander, and the movies Rabbit-Proof Fence, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and My Week with Marilyn. He also directed the revamp of Sleuth, The Magic Flute and had a huge hit with blockbuster Thor.

Career: Nighy honed his craft at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre in the 1970s. He made his TV debut in 1980 in sitcom Agony. His first film, Eye of the Needle, came a year later. He has juggled acclaimed stage appearances with TV and film work. His role as a randy lecturer in 1991's The Men's Room made him a heart-throb, but he didn't become familiar to audiences until a string of hits beginning with 1998's Still Crazy, followed by Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, State of Play, and Love Actually. He also starred in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, Stormbreaker and Underworld: Evolution. Other projects include Valkyrie, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, The Boat That Rocked, G-Force, Wild Target. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and playwright David Hare's Worricker trilogy.

Career: Wilkinson made his TV debut in the mid-1970s, and went on to appear in programmes including First Among Equals and A Pocket Full of Rye. However, it was his role as Mr Pecksniff in the BBC's 1994 adaptation of Martin Chuzzlewit that really put the actor on the map. Three years later Tom won a Bafta for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in The Full Monty, and the 1990s also saw him appear in such notable films as Shakespeare in Love, In the Name of the Father and Wilde. More recently, he played the gangster Carmine Falcone in Batman Begins, gained great critical acclaim for In the Bedroom, starred alongside George Clooney in Michael Clayton and played German army officer Friedrich Fromm in Valkyrie. He won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Benjamin Franklin in the miniseries John Adams. His recent work on the big screen includes roles in The Ghost, Burke and Hare, The Green Hornet and The Conspirator.

Career: Kretschmann caught the eye of Hollywood casting directors when he played Captain Wilm Hosenfeld in Roman Polanski's The Pianist (2002). Since then, he has starred in Downfall (2004), Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), King Kong (2005), Valkyrie (2008), The Young Victoria (2009) and Cars 2 (2011) as the voice of Professor Z. On the small screen, he starred in short-lived American supernatural drama The River. He can currently be seen playing Abraham Van Helsing in TV horror drama Dracula.

Career: Stamp and his flatmate Michael Caine struggled to make ends meet for years. Then, in 1962, Stamp landed the title role in the film Billy Budd, for which he gained an Oscar nomination. He became one of the faces of the 1960s thanks to his roles in the likes of The Collector, Poor Cow, and Far from the Madding Crowd. He rarely worked during the 1970s, preferring to spend time in India. He returned to form playing the villainous General Zod in Superman and its sequel. Since then, Stamp has appeared in such movies as The Hit, Wall Street, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace, Bowfinger and The Limey. More recent work includes Get Smart, Valkyrie, The Adjustment Bureau and Song for Marion.

Career: Izzard was a street performer before tackling stand-up at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and London's comedy clubs. He then began touring the country. Sell-out gigs led to acting roles. He's since become a star in the US and his movie credits include Velvet Goldmine, Mystery Men, Shadow of the Vampire, Ocean's Twelve and Thirteen, My Super Ex-Girlfriend and Valkyrie. He starred alongside Minnie Driver in two seasons of US drama The Riches. Izzard also played Grandpa in Mockinbird Lane, a revamp of classic series The Munsters, and has had a regular role in Hannibal. He continues to tour with his stand-up routines.