Career: In 1999, two days after graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he landed the role of Legolas in Peter Jackson's hugely successful The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Bloom's other film credits include Black Hawk Dawn (2001), Ned Kelly (2003), The Calcium Kid (2004), Troy (2004), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), The Three Musketeers (2011), Zulu (2013) and Romeo and Juliet (2014). He reprised the role of Legolas in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) and The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies (2014).

Career: Green made her film debut in Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers (2003). She followed this up with French crime-adventure Arsene Lupin (2004) and Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven (2005). Her big break came in 2006 when she played Vesper Lynd in the James Bond film Casino Royale (2006). She teamed up again with Daniel Craig in The Golden Compass (2007). More recently, she has appeared in American TV drama Camelot and fantasy war film 300: Rise of an Empire (2014).

Career: Norton started out his acting career with New York's Signature Theatre Company. He gravitated to film and received an Oscar nomination for his first movie, Primal Fear, in 1996. He then landed parts in Everyone Says I Love You and The People vs Larry Flynt. He gained another Academy Award nod for American History X in 1998 and starred in David Fincher's critically acclaimed Fight Club a year later. In 2000 he produced, directed and starred in Keeping the Faith. In 2002 he worked on the screenplay for and appeared in Frida. Films since include Red Dragon, The 25th Hour, a remake of The Italian Job, Moonrise Kingdom, The Incredible Hulk and The Bourne Legacy.

Career: Irons made his TV debut in 1971 in the series The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes and landed several other roles throughout the decade, including in the children's series Play Away. But it was in the 1980s he became widely recognised, thanks to the movie The French Lieutenant's Woman and TV tour de force Brideshead Revisited. These made him a sought after leading man and he went on to appear in productions such as Dead Ringers, Damage, Lolita, Die Hard with a Vengeance and Reversal of Fortune, for which he won an Oscar. He also lent his voice to The Lion King and has trodden the boards on Broadway, starred with his son Samuel in Danny the Champion of the World, and had a major role in The Borgias.

Career: Gleeson's classical acting skills gained the attention of Mel Gibson and he was cast in Braveheart (1995). Since then he has been in a huge variety of films, such as Mission: Impossible II (2000), Lake Placid (1999), The General (1998) and Gangs of New York (2002). He proved his was in the A-league when he was cast in the Harry Potter films and has several leading man roles to his name, including the popular crime caper, In Bruges.

Career: Neeson's professional debut was on stage in The Risen People. He was spotted in a play at Dublin's Abbey Theatre by director John Boorman, who cast him in movie Excalibur in 1981. He made a name for himself in Krull, A Woman of Substance, Ellis Island and The Mission. Other leading roles came in Suspect, The Dead Pool and The Big Man. However, he didn't become a major star until Schindler's List in 1993. Since then he's featured in Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace, Gangs of New York, Love Actually, Kinsey and the brilliant action film Taken. He was also seen in the big-screen version of The A Team and has several blockbusters in the pipeline.

Career: Thewlis had a number of minor roles in films and TV series, including an episode of Only Fools and Horses, until he landed his breakout role in Naked (1993). During the 1990s, he appeared in such films as Black Beauty (1994), Total Eclipse (1995), DragonHeart (1996), Seven Years in Tibet (1997), Divorcing Jack (1998) and The Big Lebowski (1998). Thewlis was cast as Remus Lupin in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) and went on to appear in the next four films in the series. His other credits include Kingdom of Heaven (2005), The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008), The Lady (2011), Macbeth (2015), Wonder Woman (2017) and the TV series Fargo.

Career: Sheen has continued to turn out acclaimed theatre performances, alongside his impressive TV and film career. He first appeared on the small screen in 1993's Gallowglass, while his movie debut was in 1995's Othello. High-profile projects such as Wilde, Heartlands and The Four Feathers followed. In 2003, the public began to notice him thanks to the success of Underworld, Bright Young Things and The Deal. Since then he's appeared in Laws of Attraction, The Queen, Dirty Filthy Love and Fantabulosa! He's also appeared as David Frost in the stage and film versions of Frost/Nixon, and featured in The Damned United, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Alice in Wonderland, 30 Rock, Midnight in Paris, Tron: Legacy, and Jesus Henry Christ. His most recent TV success is the US drama Masters of Sex.

Career: Scott worked as a designer, then as a director, on TV shows Z Cars, Softly Softly and Adam Adamant Lives. He set up his own company in the 1960s, which made classic adverts for Hovis and Guinness. His first film was 1977's The Duellists. Two years later he made Alien, which was a blockbuster. He's since directed a number of hugely successful movies including Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise, GI Jane, Gladiator, Hannibal, Black Hawk Down and Matchstick Men. The success of these projects made him Britain's most lucrative film-maker. His most recent work includes Kingdom Of Heaven, American Gangster, Robin Hood and Prometheus. He always has several films in various stages of production.