Career: After starring in Ben Stiller's directorial debut Reality Bites and Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, Renee became a household name after starring as Tom Cruise's love interest in Jerry Maguire. In 2001, she beat many home-grown actresses to star in the lead role in Bridget Jones' Diary and its sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, despite being neither British nor chubby. She was nominated for an Academy Award in 2002. She received another nomination the following year for her performance in Chicago, before picking up the Best Supporting actress award in 2004 for her role in Cold Mountain. Her other notable film credits include Me Myself and Irene, Appaloosa and Cinderella Man. More recently, she has appeared in Miss Potter, Bee Movie, Monsters vs Aliens and My Own Love Song.

Career: Shallow Grave kick-started McGregor's film career in 1994, then Trainspotting made his name on both sides of the Atlantic two years later. He went on to make Brassed Off, A Life Less Ordinary, Little Voice and the three Star Wars prequels. He formed production company Natural Nylon with friends Jonny Lee Miller, Sean Pertwee, Jude Law and Sadie Frost, but that has since disbanded. Other movies include Moulin Rouge!, Black Hawk Down, Young Adam, Big Fish, Deception, Angels & Demons, The Ghost and Mortdecai. The prolific actor always has a number of films in the pipeline, and occasionally tackles theatre work.

Career: Watson's acting career began on the stage with roles in the likes of The Children's Hour, Three Sisters, and Much Ado About Nothing. She made her film debut in Lars von Trier's critically acclaimed Breaking the Waves (1996), which earned Watson her first Academy Award nomination. She received a second nomination for Hilary and Jackie (1998). Her other film credits include Angela's Ashes (1999), Gosford Park (2001), The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004), Synecdoche, New York (2008), War Horse (2011), The Book Thief (2013) and The Theory of Everything (2014). Her TV credits include the miniseries The Politician's Husband.

Career: Paterson's TV debut came in 1977's Bafta-winning Licking Hitler. A year later he appeared in The Vanishing Army and Smiley's People. He went on to feature in such films as The Killing Fields, A Private Function, Defence of the Realm, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Chaplin, Bright Young Things and Truly, Madly, Deeply. Other TV projects include The Singing Detective, Traffik, The Crow Road, Doctor Zhivago, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, and Law & Order: UK. He was also nominated for an Olivier Award for Bertolt Brecht's Schwekyk in the Second World War in 1982 and has done extensive voiceover work on TV and radio.