Career: After deciding to become an actor, Stallone struggled to find decent roles. After running out of money and being made homeless he appeared in soft-porn flick The Party at Kitty and Stud's and had bit parts in several mainstream movies before writing Rocky. He persuaded producers Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler to not only buy it, but also let him star in it. The film was a massive success, won three Oscars and was followed by five sequels. He's directed several other movies and had hits with the Rambo series, Cliffhanger and Cop Land. Other films include a remake of Get Carter, Paradise Alley and Judge Dredd. More recently he's starred alongside other macho stars in The Expendables and its sequel. He was also behind TV series The Contender.

Career: Lithgow's career started out on the stage and he had many roles on Broadway. During the 1970s, he started to appear in films, such as Obsession (1976). He went on to receive Oscar nominations for his performances in The World According to Garp (1982) and Terms of Endearment (1983). He also appeared in Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), Footloose (1984) and Harry and the Hendersons (1987). From 1996 until 2001, he played Dick Solomon in the TV series 3rd Rock from the Sun. He also voiced Lord Farquaad in Shrek (2001). His film credits since then include Orange County (2002), Dreamgirls (2006), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and Interstellar (2014). He has also had various TV roles, including playing Arthur Mitchell in Dexter, Winston Churchill in The Crown and Larry Henderson in Trial & Error.