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: De Niro made a handful of films in the 1960s and early 1970s, but it wasn't until 1973's Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets (his first collaboration with Martin Scorsese) that his career took off. He received an Oscar for The Godfather Part II a year later and was nominated Academy Awards for Taxi Driver and The Deer Hunter, and took home his second Oscar for Raging Bull. The King of Comedy, Once Upon A Time in America, Brazil, The Mission, Angel Heart and The Untouchables followed. Over the past few decades, De Niro has made crowd pleasers such as Cape Fear, Casino, Heat, Meet the Parents and Analyze This, as well as directing A Bronx Tale and The Good Shepherd. He gave a fabulous comic performance in the fantasy movie Stardust, before starring alongside fellow big-screen icon Al Pacino in cop thriller Righteous Kill. His more recent films have included Silver Linings Playbook and The Family.

Career: An agent spotted Theron arguing with a bank clerk and signed her on the spot. After eight months of acting lessons she landed her first role, a non-speaking part in Children of the Corn III. A more significant role in 2 Days in the Valley followed. Tom Hanks cast her in That Thing You Do! in 1996, and she hasn't looked back, appearing in hits such as The Devil's Advocate, Mighty Joe Young, and Reindeer Games. In 2003, she starred in the remake of The Italian Job and critically acclaimed drama Monster; her performance in the latter won her an Oscar. She also starred in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, Aeon Flux, Hancock, The Road, Young Adult, Snow White & the Huntsman and Prometheus.

Career: After a guest spot on TV show China Beach, offers of film work began coming in. Among Rapaport's early credits are indie film Zebrahead, The Assassin, which starred Bridget Fonda, and Poetic Justice, which featured Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur. Since then, the actor has managed to work on both the small and silver screen, with appearances in dramas such as NYPD Blue and ER, and films like Woody Allen vehicle Mighty Aphrodite, Cop Land, Deep Blue Sea, Dr Doolittle 2 and Hitch among many others. In 2005, he was cast as Dave Gold in sitcom The War at Home, which ran for two seasons. His recent work includes Live Free or Die, My Name Is Earl, Prison Break, A Day in the Life, and Accidentally on Purpose.