Career: Cooper's breakthrough came in 2004 when he originated the role of Dakin at the National Theatre in Alan Bennett's The History Boys. He went on to play the role on Broadway and in the touring production in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. He played the part for a final time in the 2006 big-screen version. Since then, he has starred in The Duchess (2008), Mamma Mia! (2008), Freefall (2009), An Education (2009), Tamara Drewe (2010), The Devil's Double (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and its 2014 sequel, My Week with Marilyn (2011) and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2011). His TV credits include Down to Earth and Sense and Sensibility.

Career: Jackson's first film was Together for Days in 1972. He later spent two years as a stand-in on The Cosby Show, before starring in the original Broadway production of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson. A series of walk-on parts in films and on TV followed. Spike Lee cast him as the crack-addicted Gator in Jungle Fever, which gained him international acclaim. His most notable films have included Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction (for which he was Oscar-nominated), Star Wars: Episodes One, Two and Three, Shaft, The 51st State, Unbreakable, Changing Lanes, Black Snake Moan, Django Unchained, Thor, The Avengers and many more. He is regarded as one of the most bankable assets in the movie business and always has a number of films in the pipeline.