Career: Stevens' professional acting career started in 2004, when he played Orlando in Peter Hall's touring production of As You Like It. Following a number of theatre roles, Stevens landed the lead part in the BBC adaptation of The Line of Beauty. His biggest break came when he was cast as Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey. He left the show after its third season so that he could star in The Guest (2014). Since then, he has played the lead role in the TV series Legion and played the Beast in the live action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast (2017).

Career: Plummer made his Broadway debut in 1953 in The Starcross Story - a play that lasted just one night. He had better luck with his next show, Home is the Hero, which lasted for 30 performances. He has since appeared successfully on stages around the world, including London. Plummer's film career began in 1958 when he was cast in Stage Struck, but it was The Sound of Music in 1965 that made him an international star. Since then, he has been a heavily in-demand character actor and appeared in a number of notable films, including The Night of the Generals (1967), The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), Malcolm X (1992), The Insider (1999), A Beautiful Mind (2001) and The Lake House (2006). He received his first Academy Award nomination in 2009 for The Last Station, but lost out to Christoph Waltz. He had better luck in 2012 when he won an Oscar for his performance in Beginners (2010). His recent credits include Priest (2011) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011).

Career: McNeice's TV breakthrough was in the drama series Edge of Darkness. He has also appeared in a number of films, including 84 Charing Cross Road, Day of the Dead, No Escape, From Hell and The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain. His breakthrough into American films occurred when he played opposite Jim Carrey as Fulton Greenwall in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995). Other notable credits include Conspiracy (2001), Valkyrie (2009) and the HBO hit series Rome. Since 2004, he has played Bert Large in Doc Martin.

Career: His stand-up career started to take off _ he won the So You Think You're Funny? competition in 2001 and two years later was nominated for the Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In 2002, he also won over a younger audience when he was cast as Archie the inventor in the children's TV series Balamory, which ran for three years. Since then, he's gone on to appear in acclaimed sitcoms such as The Thick Of It and Rev, and has cropped up on numerous panel shows. He's also appeared in films ranging from Johnny English Reborn to Grimsby and The Legend of Tarzan, and took over from Sandi Toksvig as the host of Radio 4's The News Quiz.

Career: Margolyes first gained recognition for her work as a voice artist. After early work providing vocals on soft-porn films, she performed most of the supporting female characters in the dubbed Japanese action TV series, Monkey. She also worked with the theatre company Gay Sweatshop. Margolyes' first major role in a film was as Elephant Ethel in Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers (1977). She received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Flora Finching in the 1988 movie Little Dorrit. On American TV, she headlined the short-lived 1992 CBS sitcom Frannie's Turn. In 1993 she won a Best Supporting Actress Bafta for her role as Mrs Mingott, the only comic relief in Martin Scorsese's The Age Of Innocence. Since then she has appeared in the Harry Potter films and played small roles in many hit movies and TV shows.

Career: Pryce built up his acting CV with roles in two TV films directed by Stephen Frears, Daft as a Brush and Playthings. In 1975, he played the lead role in the Trevor Griffiths play Comedians. He reprised the role on Broadway and won a Tony Award for his performance. He made his film debut a year later in Voyage of the Damned and continued to be a regular stage performer. He won an Oliver Award in 1980 for his performance in the title role of Hamlet. His breakthrough on the big screen came in 1985 when he starred in Terry Gilliam's Brazil. After making the move into musicals, Pryce won an Olivier Award and a Tony Award for his role as the Engineer in Miss Saigon. He would go on to star in stage revivals of Oliver! and My Fair Lady. His film credits include Jumpin' Jack Flash, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Glengarry Glen Ross, Carrington, Evita, Tomorrow Never Dies and the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.