Career: A long association with the Royal Shakespeare Company began in 1966. Stewart's first small-screen role came in 1974's A Fall of Eagles, and his movie debut a year later in Tilney. His subsequent TV roles include I, Claudius, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Star Trek: The Next Generation, which made him a household name on both sides of the Atlantic. He returned to the stage when the series ended in 1994. Stewart has since appeared in the Star Trek movies Generations, First Contact, Insurrection and Nemesis. He's also starred in Conspiracy Theory and the blockbusting X-Men films. He made a memorable appearance in Extras, starred alongside David Tennant in Hamlet.

Career: Spiner made his TV debut in 1970 movie My Sweet Charlie, and eventually established himself as a stage actor in New York, appearing in a number of off-Broadway and Broadway plays. He had a bit part in the Woody Allen movie Stardust Memories. He moved to Los Angeles in 1984 and appeared in TV movies Robert Kennedy and His Times, Crime of Innocence and Manhunt for Claude Dallas. Spiner became a household name when he was cast as android Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987. He played the role until the movie Star Trek: Nemesis (which he co-wrote), when the character was killed off. He has also appeared in the movies Independence Day and Dude, Where's My Car? His recent work includes roles in the film The Aviator, and TV series Enterprise and Threshold.

Career: Sirtis had supporting roles in a number of films and guest-starring roles on many British TV series before she landed the role of Deanna Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation. She played the character during all seven seasons and also for episodes of other series in the Star Trek franchise, as well as the feature films Star Trek: Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002). Her first role after she finished Star Trek: The Next Generation was in the TV series Heaven Help Us. She also voiced Demona in the Disney series Gargoyles. Sirtis went on to appear in several films and such TV series as Diagnosis: Murder, The Outer Limits, Earth: Final Conflict, Stargate SG-1, Casualty, Holby City and Grey's Anatomy. She lent her voice to the video game Mass Effect, as well as animated series The Cleveland Show and Adventure Time. More recently, she has appeared in NCIS and voiced the Enterprise's computer in Star Trek Continues.

Career: On moving to California in 1974, Whoopi helped found the San Diego Repertory Company and honed her performance skills doing stand-up comedy. She made her movie debut in 1982's Citizen, but became a huge star in Steven Spielberg's acclaimed drama The Color Purple three years later. She has stuck largely to comedies such as Jumping Jack Flash, Sister Act and Monkeybone since, although she has appeared in such dramas as Girl, Interrupted and Boys on the Side. In 1991 she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Ghost. She also had a semi-regular role in Star Trek: The Next Generation and has taken several bit-parts in US sitcoms. She also appears as a regular on American daytime talk show The View. She returned to the stage in 2010 in the musical versions of The Lion King and Sister Act.