Career: Early in his career, Washington landed small parts on TV, and made his movie debut in 1981's Carbon Copy. A starring role in St Elsewhere led to bigger projects such as Cry Freedom, Glory (for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar), and Mo' Better Blues. The eponymous role of Malcolm X made him a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood in 1992. Since then, he's starred in Philadelphia, Crimson Tide, The Hurricane, Training Day (picking up a Best Actor Oscar for his role as a crooked cop), American Gangster, The Book of Eli, Crimson Tide, Unstoppable, Flight, 2 Guns and The Equalizer. He continues to act on stage whenever his schedule allows.

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: Before Amistad, Chiwetel starred in TV movie Deadly Voyage. The film G:MT - Greenwich Mean Time (1999) was not well received, but his next film, Dirty Pretty Things (2002), led to him winning a number of awards. Since then, he has starred in Twelfth Night (2003), Love Actually (2003), Four Brothers (2005), Serenity (2005), Kinky Boots (2005), American Gangster (2007), 2012 (2009) and Salt (2010). An accomplished stage actor, he won a Laurence Olivier Award in 2008 for playing the lead role in Othello. More recently he played the lead role in the critically acclaimed 12 Years a Slave (2014).

Career: He went on to work in TV in such series as Private Eye and The Young Riders and appeared in a number of big-screen flops until he was finally noticed for his supporting role in Grindhouse (2007). In the same year he also starred in American Gangster and In the Valley of Elah. Since then, he has appeared in a number of prominent films, including No Country for Old Men (2007), W. (2008), Milk (2008), Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), True Grit (2010), Men in Black 3 (2012), Gangster Squad (2013), Oldboy (2013) and Labor Day (2013).

Career: Gugino had a recurring role in the soap opera Falcon Crest and played Michael J Fox's love interest during the first season of the sitcom Spin City. She is perhaps best known for playing family matriarch Ingrid Cortez in three Sky Kids films (2001-2003). She played the title role in short-lived crime drama Karen Sisco and played the lead role in another short-lived project, sci-fi drama Threshold. More recently, she has starred on the big screen in Watchman (2009), Race to Witch Mountain (2009), Sucker Punch (2011), Mr Popper's Penguins (2011) and San Andreas (2015). Her TV credits include recurring roles in Californication, Political Animals, Wayward Pines, and The Brink.

Career: Bitten by the acting bug, Gooding Jr landed roles on TV shows such as Hill Street Blues and MacGyver in the late 1980s. In 1991, he landed a part in the film Boyz n the Hood, and it launched him on the road to stardom. Small but important roles in the likes of A Few Good Men and Lightning Jack led to bigger parts in Outbreak and Losing Isaiah. However, it was the 1996 smash Jerry Maguire, which saw him win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, that really put him on the map. Since then, his career has been patchy, with movies such as Pearl Harbor and Rat Race alongside meatier fare such as As Good As It Gets and American Gangster. He continues to be an in-demand actor.

Career: Elba's earliest roles came in Crimewatch UK reconstructions, 2point4 Children, Absolutely Fabulous and Bramwell. He spent a couple of years in Channel 5 soap Family Affairs and featured in Ultraviolet and Dangerfield before playing a suave, but doomed, urban gangster in the critically acclaimed The Wire on US TV from 2002 to 2004. The role turned him into a star on both sides of the Atlantic. Projects since include 28 Weeks Later, American Gangster, RocknRolla, The Office (US version), Thor, The Big C, Prometheus and the hugely successful Luther. More recently, he has starred in Pacific Rim, Thor: The Dark World, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and No Good Deed.

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.