Career: Norman Jewison gave him his first leading role on the big screen in Bogus (1996), and he proved completely at ease in this dramatic role. However, it took the smash hit The Sixth Sense (1999) to brand the young actor on the public consciousness. His devastating performance as the haunted Cole Sear brought him an Oscar nomination at age 11. After another great performance in Pay It Forward, he starred in Steven Spielberg's Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001), cementing his stature as one of the leading young actors in Hollywood. Most recently he has been doing voice work and gave a great leading performance in little-seen war movie Truth and Treason.

Career: Law made his TV debut in 1989's The Tailor of Gloucester, and a year later left school to take a role in daytime soap Families. During his early twenties, he spent much of his time on stage, where he gained numerous plaudits. His first film, Shopping, wasn't a success, but he made a name for himself in Wilde. Appearances in Gattaca, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, eXistenZ and AI: Artificial Intelligence cemented his reputation. He gained an Oscar nomination for The Talented Mr Ripley in 1999, and another for Cold Mountain four years later. Other projects include Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, The Aviator and The Holiday. His more recent roles include a part in Guy Ritchie's takes on Sherlock Holmes, playing Dr Watson. He also occasionally appears in stage productions.

Career: Hurt spent the early years of his acting career on the stage and his first major film role was in science fiction-horror Altered States (1980). His big break came a year later when he starred alongside Richard Crenna, Ted Danson and Kathleen Turner in Body Heat. He won an Academy Award for Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) and picked up further nominations for Children of a Lesser God (1986), Broadcast News (1987) and A History of Violence (2005). His other film credits include The Big Chill (1983), The Accidental Tourist (1988), I Love You to Death (1990), Lost in Space (1998), Syriana (2005) and The Incredible Hulk (2008). On the small screen, he had a regular role in Damages and starred as Captain Ahab in a 2011 TV adaptation of Moby Dick. More recently, he has starred in miniseries Bonnie and Clyde and the film Winter's Tale (2014).

Career: O'Connor's other film credits include Thank God He Met Lizzy (1997), Mansfield Park (1999), Bedazzled (2000) and A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). Work on the small screen includes roles in Blue Heelers, Madame Bovary and Vegas. In 2013, she began playing Rose Selfridge in ITV drama Mr Selfridge.

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: Spielberg's 1971 thriller Duel paved the way for feature film The Sugarland Express, a modest hit. In 1975, Jaws started a long run of successes, including the Indiana Jones films, ET, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. He also co-founded studio Dreamworks SKG, which has backed various hits, including Shrek, American Beauty and Gladiator. Spielberg's recent films include The Terminal, Munich and War of the Worlds. He has also worked as the producer on a string of hit films, including The Goonies, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the Back to the Future trilogy, the Transformers trilogy, and True Grit. His recent work includes The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, War Horse and Lincoln. He won an Oscar for Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List and an honorary award in 1987.