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.

Career: Spacey performed stand-up comedy before Kilmer encouraged him to study acting at the Juilliard School. He dropped out two years later, but soon made his Broadway debut in Henry V. He understudied Harvey Keitel in a production of Hurlyburly for director Mike Nichols. The latter then gave him roles in the movies Heartburn and Working Girl. More theatre work followed, until in 1992 the film Glengarry Glen Ross made him an actor to watch. He's won Oscars for The Usual Suspects and American Beauty. Other acclaimed projects include Se7en and LA Confidential. Spacey also starred in Bobby Darin biopic Beyond the Sea, Superman Returns and The Men Who Stare at Goats. He has been the artistic director of London's Old Vic theatre since 2004.

Career: Morse made his big-screen debut in 1980 Oscar-nominated comedy Inside Moves. After appearing in the projects Our Family Business and Nurse, he was cast in TV medical drama St Elsewhere. The show helped boost the profiles of Morse and co-star Denzel Washington. He stayed with the series for six years, and went on to feature in Midnight Caller and Cross of Fire, before the 1990s brought a string of high-profile roles, including the movies Desperate Hours, The Indian Runner, Twelve Monkeys, The Rock, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Contact and The Green Mile. Over the past few years, Morse has featured on the big screen in Dancer in the Dark, Hearts in Atlantis, 16 Blocks, The Hurt Locker, Mother and Child and Collaborator and on TV in Hack, House, John Adams, Medium and Treme.

Career: Giamatti's first high-profile role was in the film adaptation of Howard Stern's Private Parts as Kenny 'Pig Vomit' Rushton, Stern's antagonistic program director at WNBC. He appeared in a number of supporting roles in big-budget movies such as The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, and The Negotiator (all in 1998). In 1999, he played Bob Zmuda (and Tony Clifton) in the Andy Kaufman biopic, Man on the Moon. Giamatti continued to be featured in major studio releases such as Big Momma's House (2000) with Martin Lawrence, the Planet of the Apes remake (2001), and in Big Fat Liar (2002) opposite Frankie Muniz and Amanda Bynes, before his performance in the gentle drama Sideways won major critical praise. In 2006, he was the lead in M Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water, a supernatural thriller. He played Mr Hertz in the action movie Shoot 'Em Up and Santa Claus in the comedy Fred Claus. He won an Emmy and Golden Globe for his lead role in HBO's John Adams, and his most recent work includes Duplicity, The Last Station, Barney's Version (a role for which he won another Golden Globe), and The Amazing Spider-Man 2.