Career: Gambon became a member of Laurence Olivier's first Royal National Theatre company, and made his movie debut in 1965's Othello, alongside the star. His role in long-running TV show The Borderers led to an audition for James Bond. Parts in such forgettable productions as The Beast Must Die and Nothing But the Night came next. It was The Singing Detective in 1986 that finally made him a star. He's worked steadily ever since in the likes of Maigret, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, Gosford Park, Doctor Who, Quartet, Sleepy Hollow and Fortitude. He took over playing Dumbledore in Harry Potter following the death of Richard Harris. He's won BAFTA TV awards for Perfect Strangers, Longitude, Wives and Daughters, and The Singing Detective.

Career: Streep started out on the New York stage before making her TV and film debuts in 1977 in Secret Service and Julia respectively. She received her first Oscar nomination a year later for The Deer Hunter and has been nominated a further 17 times - a record - with wins for Kramer vs Kramer, Sophie's Choice and The Iron Lady. Other acclaimed projects include Holocaust, The French Lieutenant's Woman, Silkwood, Out of Africa, A Cry in the Dark, Postcards from the Edge, The Bridges of Madison County, The Hours, Adaptation, The Devil Wears Prada, Angels in America and box-office smash Mamma Mia! Other recent hits include Doubt, It's Complicated and Julie and Julia.

Career: McCormack made her film debut in little-seen Australian movie Loaded in 1994, the same year she appeared on TV for the first time in Wycliffe. Her performance in Braveheart looked set to make her a star, but instead of heading for Hollywood, she preferred to stay in Europe to make Deacon Brodie, The Land Girls, Dancing at Lughnasa, This Year's Love, and Love in the 21st Century. She has also starred in Shadow of the Vampire, Born Romantic, The Tailor of Panama and Spy Game. In 2004 she returned to TV with Gunpowder, Treason and Plot and in 2007 she appeared in horror sequel 28 Days Later.

Career: Burke first became familiar to TV audiences via roles in sketches by such performers as Harry Enfield, and French and Saunders. Through her association with Enfield, she became a household name thanks to her portrayal of the grotesque Waynetta Slob. She followed that up with the sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme, and continued to notch up rave reviews in both comedy and serious work; arguably her best performance came in Gary Oldman's movie Nil By Mouth. Since 2001 she has largely refrained from acting and has thrown herself into theatre directing to great acclaim. However, in 2011, she appeared in the acclaimed film adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, alongside her old mate Oldman. A year later wrote and featured in the semi-autobiographical sitcom Walking and Talking.

Career: Thompson appeared in a number of films during the 1990s, including Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Emma (1996) and Dancing at Lughnasa (1998). She also made a number of TV appearances in the 1990s and 2000s, including in Jonathan Creek, Persuasion, Midsomer Murders and Doc Martin. From 2006 to 2007 she played Stella Crawford in EastEnders. More recently, she has appeared in such films as Eat Pray Love (2010), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) and That Day We Sang (2014), as well as such TV series as Lightfields, Detectorists and Jericho. Aside from TV and film, Thompson has had a successful stage career that has seen her nominated for Olivier Awards on several occasions, and even winning one when she portrayed The Baker's Wife in Into the Woods from 1998 to 1999. In 2014, Thompson won Celebrity Masterchef and released a recipe book, My Family Kitchen, the year after.

Career: Ifans spent 18 months at the National Theatre and has also appeared at Manchester's Royal Exchange theatre. His first TV appearances were in Welsh-language programmes for S4C. In 1995, he made his movie debut in Streetlife. Two years later he appeared on the small screen in The Sin Eater and Trial and Retribution, and starred in the film Twin Town with his brother. Notting Hill made him a star in 1999. Since then he's featured in Kevin and Perry Go Large, Little Nicky, The 51st State, The Shipping News and Vanity Fair. His recent work includes Enduring Love, Hannibal Rising, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Boat That Rocked, Greenberg, Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, and The Amazing Spider-Man.