Career: After appearing in a Broadway play, Lancaster attracted the attention of a Hollywood agent, which led to him making his film debut alongside Ava Gardner in The Killers (1946). Lancaster went on to win an Academy Award for Elmer Gantry (1960) and he was also nominated for From Here to Eternity (1953), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) and Atlantic City (1980). He demonstrated his acrobatic ability in The Crimson Pirate (1952). Other film credits included Apache (1954), The Kentuckian (1955), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), and The Unforgiven (1960). In a glittering career, he worked alongside a number of Hollywood icons, including Kirk Douglas, Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Audrey Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Paul Newman and Sophia Loren. He died on October 20, 1994, at the age of 80.

Career: Harris made his film debut in the 1958 British comedy Alive and Kicking. Other roles followed in The Guns of Navarone and Mutiny on the Bounty before his first lead role came in 1963's This Sporting Life. Other movies followed, including The Heroes of Telemark, Major Dundee, Camelot, A Man Called Horse, The Cassandra Crossing and The Wild Geese. He appeared in a number of forgettable productions during the 1980s but returned to form in the 1990s with The Field, Patriot Games and Unforgiven. His later films included Gladiator and two Harry Potter films. He died in London on October 25, 2002, at the age of 72, following a battle with Hodgkin's disease.

Career: Sheen toured Europe with the Living Theatre group in 1961 and starred on Broadway before moving to Hollywood. His big break came in Terrence Malick's 1973 cult classic Badlands. He had a heart attack while filming 1979's Apocalypse Now, and later became a passionate campaigner on human rights issues. He's since featured in projects such as Gandhi, miniseries Kennedy, Wall Street (alongside son Charlie) and Catch Me If You Can. Sheen starred as a White House aide in romantic comedy The American President, which led to him being cast as the US leader in acclaimed TV drama The West Wing. He had a small but eye-catching part in Oscar-laden cop movie The Departed. He has also starred in Bobby and The Way, both directed by his son Emilio Estevez. He played Ben Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012).

Career: Loren became a huge star in Italy, and also began making waves in Hollwyood in movies such as The Pride and the Passion and Houseboat. In 1960, her performance in Two Women made her the first person to win a Best Actress Oscar for a non-English speaking role, and her success continued throughout the decade as she became one of the biggest movie stars in the world. After becoming a mother in 1969, she scaled back on her film work, although in 1980 she did play herself and her mother in the TV film Sophia Loren: My Story. More recently, she's appeared in the likes of Pret a Porter, Grumpier Old Men and Nine.

Career: After starring in a number of minor roles for MGM, Gardner received her big break in 1946 when she was loaned to Universal to star in The Killers, which starred Burt Lancaster in his film debut. The film was a big success and received a number of Academy Award nominations. Gardner went on to work with a number of big-name directors, including John Ford in Mogambo (1953) and George Cukor in Bhowani Junction (1956). Other notable films included Mayerling (1968), Earthquake (1974), The Cassandra Crossing (1976) and The Blue Bird (1976). Toward the end of her career, she primarily worked on TV, notably in Knots Landing, and The Long Hot Summer. Gardner died of pneumonia on January 25, 1990 at the age of 67 in London, a place she had called home since 1968.