Career: Stone made her film debut in Woody Allen's Stardust Memories in 1980. She appeared in a host of hit-and-miss offerings, including King Solomon's Mines and Action Jackson before 1990 blockbuster Total Recall boosted her image. Stone became a household name two years later thanks to her role as bisexual novelist Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct, a part she reprised for a sequel in 2005. She received an Oscar nomination for her role in Martin Scorsese's Casino, and co-produced and starred in Western The Quick and the Dead. More recent projects include Bobby, Lovelace and TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2010.

Career: After making the decision to get into acting in 1956, Hackman joined the Pasadena Playhouse in California (where incidentally, he struck up a friendship with Dustin Hoffman). After performances in several off-Broadway plays, Hackman's first movie was Lilith alongside Warren Beatty, who then cast him in his breakthrough film, Bonnie and Clyde. Hackman was soon in demand, showcasing his talents in everything from comedy (in Young Frankenstein) to villainy (as Lex Luthor in Superman). He's also won two Oscars - Best Actor for The French Connection, and Best Supporting Actor for Unforgiven. He retired from acting in 2004 to concentrate on writing novels.

Career: A spell in musical theatre led to Crowe's first major big-screen role in 1990 film The Crossing, followed by Proof, for which he won an Australian Film Institute Award. A second gong came for the controversial Romper Stomper, prompting Sharon Stone to headhunt him for The Quick And The Dead in 1995. He followed that with major movies such as LA Confidential, The Insider, and Gladiator, for which he won the 2001 Best Actor award at the Oscars. Since then, he's starred in A Beautiful Mind and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Recent hits have included 3.10 to Yuma, American Gangster, State of Play, and Robin Hood. His recent credits include Les Miserables, Man of Steel, Winter's Tale and Noah.

Career: DiCaprio made his film debut in direct-to-video comedy sci-fi horror Critters 3 in 1991. Shortly after, he had a recurring role on the sitcom Growing Pains. His big break came in 1992 when he beat 400 other young actors to play the lead role in the movie This Boy's Life (1993) alongside Ellen Barkin and Robert De Niro. DiCaprio achieved critical acclaim for his role as a mentally handicapped boy in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993). Roles in a number of popular and acclaimed movies followed, including Romeo + Juliet (1996), Titanic (1997), Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), The Departed (2006), Blood Diamond (2006), Inception (2010), Shutter Island (2010), J Edgar (2011), Django Unchained (2012), The Great Gatsby (2013) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013).

Career: Sinise's stage career took off in the 1970s; he also began directing during this time. Steppenwolf's production of Sam Shepard's True West transferred from Chicago to New York, allowing the actor to make his Broadway debut. He returned to directing to make episodes of TV's Crime Story and thirtysomething. His first film behind the camera was Miles from Home in 1988. Sinise's movie debut as an actor was A Midnight Clear in 1992. Big-screen outings since include Forrest Gump (for which he was Oscar-nominated), Apollo 13, The Quick and the Dead, The Green Mile and Ransom. It is as Mac in CSI:NY that he is now best known, though in recent years he has established a sideline as TV documentary narrator.

Career: For more than 30 years, Bell was known for doing stand-ins and background work. In 1982, he secured his first speaking role in Sophie's Choice. He relocated to Los Angeles and landed his first major acting job in Mississippi Burning (1988). He went on to star in a number of films and made guest appearances in various TV shows. His big break came in 2004 when he was cast as John Kramer/Jigsaw in the horror film Saw. The low-budget film cost $1.2million and went on to gross more than $103million. He has reprised the role in several Saw sequels.

Career: Raimi moved away from the horror genre, directing the western The Quick and the Dead (1995), crime thriller A Simple Plan (1998) and the romantic drama For Love of the Game (1999). He achieved critical and commercial success in 2002 with the release of Spider-Man. It grossed more than $800million worldwide and Raimi went on to direct two more equally successful Spidey sequels. More recently, Raimi has directed Drag Me to Hell (2009) and Oz the Great and Powerful (2013). He produced the 2013 remake of Evil Dead. On TV, Raimi has produced Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and its spin-off Xena: Warrior Princess, and been the executive producer on Spartacus Blood and Sand, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, Spartacus: Vengeance and Spartacus: War of the Damned.