Career: After working in theatre, Nesbitt made his TV debut in Boon and his first film, Hear My Song, in 1991. He hasn't looked back, appearing in a string of hits on both the big and small screens, including Waking Ned, Jude, Touching Evil, and Playing The Field. Cold Feet turned him into a major TV star, while acclaimed film Bloody Sunday marked him out as a gifted serious actor. The lead role of a maverick cop in TV drama Murphy's Law was written especially for him. He's also starred in Quite Ugly One Morning, Match Point and Five Minutes of Heaven. Nesbitt has also been seen in The Deep, Babylon, Monroe, The Hobbit. and The Missing.

Career: Lennie has appeared in more than 20 films, including the 1998 film adaptation of Les Miserables, the Guy Ritchie crime caper Snatch (2000), 24 Hour Party People (2002), and Sahara (2005) and wrote the play The Sons of Charlie Paora, which was performed at London's Royal Court Theatre. He appeared in the short-lived Channel 4 prison drama Buried. He played Luke Gardner in the BBC terrorism drama The State Within, Bishop David Newman on the BBC spy drama Spooks and was in the CBS drama Jericho. He played the role of Cedric Munroe in the 2007 film Outlaw and is constantly in-demand on both sides of the Atlantic. He has made guest appearances as Morgan Jones on AMC series The Walking Dead.

Career: Spall appeared on stage with Birmingham Rep and the Royal Shakespeare Company before his movie debut in 1979's Quadrophenia. His big break came playing Barry in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet in 1983. He received Bafta TV nominations for Our Mutual Friend, Shooting The Past and Vacuuming Completely Nude In Paradise. Other memorable projects include Secrets and Lies, Life Is Sweet, Topsy-Turvy, Vanilla Sky, Still Crazy, Frank Stubbs Promotes and several of the Harry Potter movies. He received an OBE in 1999. Always in demand, more recent work includes Pierrepoint, The Street, Enchanted, Oliver Twist, The Damned United, The Fattest Man in Britain, The King's Speech, The Syndicate, and Mr Turner.

Career: Nighy honed his craft at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre in the 1970s. He made his TV debut in 1980 in sitcom Agony. His first film, Eye of the Needle, came a year later. He has juggled acclaimed stage appearances with TV and film work. His role as a randy lecturer in 1991's The Men's Room made him a heart-throb, but he didn't become familiar to audiences until a string of hits beginning with 1998's Still Crazy, followed by Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, State of Play, and Love Actually. He also starred in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, Stormbreaker and Underworld: Evolution. Other projects include Valkyrie, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, The Boat That Rocked, G-Force, Wild Target. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and playwright David Hare's Worricker trilogy.

Career: Cook's many TV credits include The Singing Detective, Bergerac, Boon, The Bill, Sharpe's Honour, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Casanova, Funland, Doctor Who, Little Dorrit, The Diary of Anne Frank. He plays Mr Crabb in Mr Selfridge. On the big screen, he has appeared in Secrets & Lies (1996), Topsy-Turvy (1999), Chocolat (2000), Thunderbirds (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007) and Bert & Dickie (2012). On the stage, he has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Court and the National Theatre.

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).