Career: In 1940, Bogarde joined the Queen's Royal Regiment as an officer and served in the Air Photographic Intelligence Unit. He was awarded seven medals in his five years of active duty. He returned to acting after the Second World War and in 1947 appeared on stage in Power Without Glory. He made his movie debut in the same year with one line in Dancing with Crime. His first lead role came a year later when he starred in Esther Waters. On the strength of this performance, the Rank Organisation signed him to a long-term contract and he appeared in a variety of parts for them for the next 14 years. His notable films include Doctor in the House (1954), Victim (1961), The Servant (1963), Darling (1965), Death in Venice (1974) and A Bridge Too Far (1977). He won Bafta film awards for Darling and The Servant. He was knighted in 1992. He died of a heart attack on May 8, 1999, at the age of 78.

Career: Caan began appearing in off-Broadway plays before making his Broadway debut in Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole in 1961. He appeared in TV series such as The Untouchables, Wide Country, Dr Kildare, and Ben Casey, before landing his first film role in 1964 thriller Lady in a Cage. A year later, he landed his first starring role in Red Line 7000. More films followed in the 1960s, including El Dorado (1966), Countdown (1968), and The Rain People (1969). During the 1970s, he won acclaim in TV movie Brian's Song, and on the big screen in The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974), Rollerball (1975), Funny Lady (1975), A Bridge Too Far (1977), and Violent Streets (1981). After a break from acting, he returned in 1987 in Francis Ford Coppola's Gardens of Stone. He went on to star in Alien Nation (1988), Dick Tracy (1990), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Eraser (1996), Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), and Elf (2003). In 2003, he returned to TV in Las Vegas, a role he played for five seasons.

Career: Caine worked on stage and appeared in small roles on TV, often struggling to make ends meet. He was good friends with Terence Stamp during the early 1960s, before either became famous, and they often shared digs. Caine decided if he wasn't successful by the age of 30 he'd quit acting. Days before this milestone he landed the role in Zulu which made his name. The Harry Palmer spy movies, The Italian Job and Alfie secured his star status. Since then, he's made many films, many forgettable and, by his own admission, done for the money. Highlights include Get Carter, Sleuth (plus a remake), The Man Who Would Be King, Educating Rita, Little Voice, Mona Lisa, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Harry Brown and Interstellar. He won Oscars for Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules. He claims he will retire from showbusiness when he's 90.

Career: While still a bodybuilder, Sean was offered the chance to appear in a West End production of South Pacific, which kick-started his acting career. His film debut came in 1955's Lilacs in the Spring, but he didn't become a major star until he appeared as Bond in 1962's Dr No. It remains his most famous role, despite hits including The Man Who Would Be King, Rising Sun, A Bridge Too Far, Time Bandits, Highlander, The Rock, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Entrapment. He won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for The Untouchables in 1987.

Career: Fox was an extra in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (which featured his brother James), and had a bigger role in 1963's This Sporting Life, the same year he made his TV debut in Suspense. He quickly became famous in the UK thanks to Edward & Mrs Simpson, The Jokers, The Portrait of a Lady, Oh! What a Lovely War, and The Go-Between, but it was The Day of the Jackal in 1973 which brought him international acclaim. Since then, Fox has appeared in A Bridge Too Far, The Duellists, Gandhi, Never Say Never Again, A Passage to India, Lost in Space, Stage Beauty and Oliver Twist. He continues to act on stage.

Career: Hopkins's first professional work was on stage. He later joined Laurence Olivier's National Theatre, but left to make acclaimed movie The Lion in Winter. A steady stream of TV and film work followed (as well as some theatre appearances), including War and Peace, The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case, The Bunker, A Bridge Too Far, The Elephant Man, and Across the Lake. But Hopkins didn't become a major Hollywood star until after giving up alcohol. He won an Oscar for 1991's The Silence of the Lambs, and since then has starred in such hits as The Remains of the Day, Howards End, Hannibal, Shadowlands, Thor and Hitchcock.

Career: Redford appeared on stage before making his TV debut in a 1960 episode of Maverick. More small-screen roles followed, and he was shortlisted to play Dr Kildare, but lost out to Richard Chamberlain. Movies such as The Chase and Barefoot in the Park followed, but it was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid that turned him into a major star in 1969. Films since include The Candidate, The Sting, All the President's Men, Out of Africa and Spy Game. He's also an accomplished director, winning an Oscar in 1981 for Ordinary People, and assembling a dream cast for Lions for Lambs.

Career: Gould landed a role in musical Rumple, then met Barbra Streisand while starring alongside her on Broadway. His first film was 1964's The Confession. Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice (for which he was Oscar nominated) was a hit in 1969. A year later the movie version of MASH was a blockbuster. He continued to make decent films throughout the 1970s, but fell out of favour in the 1980s. Playing Ross and Monica's father in Friends introduced him to a new generation of viewers in 1994. His most recent hits were the Ocean's films, alongside George Clooney and Brad Pitt. More recently, he has starred in the TV series Ray Donovan and Mulaney.

Career: Elliott made his film debut in Dear Mr Prohack (1949) and went on to play a wide range of parts, usually in a supporting role. He won Bafta TV awards for BBC2 Playhouse (1974), Tales of the Unexpected (1979) and Blade on the Feather (1980). For his work on the big screen, he won Bafta film awards for Trading Places (1983), A Private Function (1985), A Room with a View (1985) and Defence of the Realm (1986). Other notable credits included the films Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), and the TV miniseries Codename: Kyril (1988) and Bangkok Hilton (1989). He died at his home in Spain on October 6, 1992 at the age of 70.

Career: After making the decision to get into acting in 1956, Hackman joined the Pasadena Playhouse in California (where incidentally, he struck up a friendship with Dustin Hoffman). After performances in several off-Broadway plays, Hackman's first movie was Lilith alongside Warren Beatty, who then cast him in his breakthrough film, Bonnie and Clyde. Hackman was soon in demand, showcasing his talents in everything from comedy (in Young Frankenstein) to villainy (as Lex Luthor in Superman). He's also won two Oscars - Best Actor for The French Connection, and Best Supporting Actor for Unforgiven. He retired from acting in 2004 to concentrate on writing novels.

Career: Attenborough's film debut was 1942's In Which We Serve, playing a cowardly sailor; in real life, he served with the RAF's Film Unit, sustaining permanent ear damage in the process. He became a post-war star thanks to hits such as Brighton Rock (1947),The Great Escape (1963), and I'm All Right Jack (1959). He and Bryan Forbes formed a production company in the early 1960s, which made films including The Angry Silence (1960) and Whistle Down the Wind (1961). Attenborough directed his first film, Oh! What a Lovely War, in 1969, won an Oscar for Gandhi in 1982, and also directed the acclaimed movies A Bridge Too Far (1977), Chaplin (1992) and Shadowlands (1993). He returned to acting in the 1990s to appear in Jurassic Park (1993), Miracle on 34th Street (1994), and Elizabeth (1998). He was knighted in 1976 and made a life peer in 1993. He died on August 24, 2014, at the age of 90.