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: Close made her Broadway debut in a production of Love for Love after lead actress Mary Ure suddenly left. Her first TV appearance was in 1975's The Rules of the Game, while her debut movie, The World According to Garp, landed her an Oscar nod. She's been nominated a further five times, for The Big Chill, Fatal Attraction (despite being fourth choice for the role), The Natural, Dangerous Liaisons and Albert Nobbs - in fact, she, Deborah Kerr and Thelma Ritter jointly hold the record for the most Oscar nominations without a win. Other movies include Reversal of Fortune, Hamlet, Meeting Venus, 101 Dalmatians and its sequel, and The Stepford Wives remake. More recently, she's picked up numerous plaudits for her performances in hit series Damages.

Career: Following a successful spell on stage he turned to movies, making a massive impact as Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy in 1986, and Prick Up Your Ears a year later. Alcoholism threatened his career, but he has now quit booze. His roles include playing Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK, the title role in Bram Stoker's Dracula, and Mason Verger in Hannibal. Other projects include Lost in Space, Leon, and The Fifth Element. His directorial debut, the acclaimed Nil By Mouth, was a heart-breaking, semi-autobiographical movie about his childhood. Oldman suffered a career slump around the Millennium, when he concentrated more on raising his young family than he did on acting. But he came back stronger than ever with roles in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Tinker Tailor Solider Spy (for which he was Oscar nominated) and the Batman franchise.

Career: Macy moved to New York in 1980 and starred in a number of off-Broadway and Broadway plays. His first major role in front of a camera was the 1984 TV movie The Boy who Loved Trolls. On the big screen, Macy is best known for his lead role in Fargo (1996), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. His other film credits include Benny & Joon, Mr Holland's Opus, Pleasantville, Psycho, Jurassic Park III, Seabiscuit and Sahara. Since 2011, he has played the main protagonist Frank Gallagher in the US remake of TV comedy drama Shameless.