Career: Diesel found getting acting jobs difficult until his mother gave him a book about making low-budget films. That led him to write, direct and star in short film Multi-Facial in 1994, which was well-received at the Cannes Film Festival. His first feature film, Strays, wasn't as well appraised, but Steven Spielberg was impressed enough to cast him in Saving Private Ryan. Diesel went on to voice The Iron Giant before tackling his first lead role in 2000's modest sci-fi hit Pitch Black. That made casting directors take notice, and he has since appeared in such blockbusters as The Fast and the Furious and xXx, as well as their sequels. Other films include The Pacifier, Find Me Guilty and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Career: Jackson's first film was Together for Days in 1972. He later spent two years as a stand-in on The Cosby Show, before starring in the original Broadway production of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson. A series of walk-on parts in films and on TV followed. Spike Lee cast him as the crack-addicted Gator in Jungle Fever, which gained him international acclaim. His most notable films have included Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction (for which he was Oscar-nominated), Star Wars: Episodes One, Two and Three, Shaft, The 51st State, Unbreakable, Changing Lanes, Black Snake Moan, Django Unchained, Thor, The Avengers and many more. He is regarded as one of the most bankable assets in the movie business and always has a number of films in the pipeline.