Career: After being hired to make cabinets for George Lucas, Ford was cast in the director's 1973 film American Graffiti. They reunited for the original Star Wars trilogy, which made both their names. His role as intrepid archaeologist Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequels cemented his position as one of the world's best-loved heroes. Ford was Oscar-nominated for Peter Weir's thriller Witness. He worked with the director again on 1986 project The Mosquito Coast, which despite being a flop remains one of his favourite movies. Other notable projects include The Fugitive, Blade Runner, Working Girl, Patriot Games and Cowboys & Aliens.

Career: Blanchett started out on the Sydney stage, in both straight dramas and musicals. She made her TV debut in Police Rescue in 1993. Other brief small-screen roles followed, until two miniseries, Heartland and Bordertown, got her noticed. The movies Oscar and Lucinda, and Thank God He Met Lizzie were well-received, but it was 1998's Elizabeth, for which she received an Academy Award nomination, that made her a star. She reprised the role in sequel Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Other notable projects include The Talented Mr Ripley, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Aviator (for which she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Robin Hood. In 2013, she won an Oscar for Blue Jasmine in the Best Actress category.

Career: Scum was remade as a movie two years later. Winstone reprised his role, winning huge critical acclaim, before landing a part in the cult Brit flick Quadrophenia. After becoming a well-known name and face, he appeared in numerous TV shows, including Fox, Robin of Sherwood, and The Ghostbusters of East Finchley, but is better known for his often violent or controversial films, such as Nil By Mouth, Face and Sexy Beast. He is currently the face of an advertisement campaign for an on-line betting company, resolutely appearing during live football matches quoting the latest odds. Other projects include Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Departed, Great Expectations, Vincent and the big-screen remake of The Sweeney.

Career: Shia took a starring role in Disney show Even Stevens, as well as a number of Disney movies. He went on to small roles in films including Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) and Bobby (2006) before his big break came in 2007 when he starred in Disturbia. This led to roles in Transformers (2007) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) and starring alongside Michael Douglas in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010). More recently, he has starred in Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), Lawless (2012) and Nymphomaniac (2013).

Career: Hurt made both his London stage debut (in the acclaimed Infanticide in the House of Fred Ginger) and his first film, The Wild and the Willing, in 1962. More theatre work and films such as A Man for All Seasons and 10 Rillington Place followed. In 1975, he won a Bafta for his portrayal of Quentin Crisp in TV drama The Naked Civil Servant, which made his name. He received Oscar nominations for Midnight Express and The Elephant Man. Other acclaimed projects included Nineteen Eighty-Four, Scandal, Alien and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. He also portrayed the Tory politician Alan Clark in The Alan Clark Diaries for the BBC. He reprised his role as Quentin Crisp in 2009 in An Englishman in New York. He went on to appear in the final two Harry Potter films, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Doctor Who. He died on January 27, 2017, at the age of 77.

Career: Broadbent caught the eye of casting directors following Illuminatus in 1976, a 12-hour sci-fi production. He worked with the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company and as the National Theatre of Brent, a two-man comedy troupe he co-founded with Patrick Barlow. Despite originally turning down the role of Del Boy, he played bent copper Roy Slater in Only Fools and Horses. Bigger parts came in the 1990s, in such projects as Life Is Sweet, Bullets Over Broadway, Richard III and Topsy-Turvy. He also starred in Bridget Jones's Diary, Moulin Rouge!, Iris (for which he won an Oscar), Gangs of New York, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and two Harry Potter movies. His recent work includes The Iron Lady, Cloud Atlas, Le Week-End, The Harry Hill Movie, Paddington and Get Santa.

Career: Spielberg's 1971 thriller Duel paved the way for feature film The Sugarland Express, a modest hit. In 1975, Jaws started a long run of successes, including the Indiana Jones films, ET, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. He also co-founded studio Dreamworks SKG, which has backed various hits, including Shrek, American Beauty and Gladiator. Spielberg's recent films include The Terminal, Munich and War of the Worlds. He has also worked as the producer on a string of hit films, including The Goonies, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the Back to the Future trilogy, the Transformers trilogy, and True Grit. His recent work includes The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, War Horse and Lincoln. He won an Oscar for Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List and an honorary award in 1987.

Career: After a business partnership with friend Francis Ford Coppola, Lucas formed his own company, Lucasfilm Ltd, in 1971. Two years later, he wrote and directed the semi-autobiographical American Graffiti. In 1975 he established ILM (Industrial Light & Magic), a revolutionary special effects company, and Sprocket Sounds - now known as Skywalker Sound. In 1976, Twentieth Century Fox gambled on Lucas's Star Wars screenplay, and the shrewd director took the unprecedented step of forgoing his salary in exchange for 40 per cent of the film's box-office take and all merchandising rights. The movie broke all box office records and redefined the term blockbuster. Two sequels and three prequels followed with similar success. Lucas has also acted as a writer and executive producer on the Indiana Jones series of movies. In 2012, he announced his decision to retire from making large-scale movies, and focus on independently budgeted features.