Early-life: Born Benjamin Geza Affleck-Boldt on August 15, 1972, in Berkeley, California, but was raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His mother was a teacher, while his father had a number of jobs, including social worker, mechanic and janitor. Ben's younger brother, Casey, is also an actor, and they've worked together several times. Ben met Matt Damon at the age of eight; they attended the same school and lived near each other. On graduating from high school, Ben attended Occidental College in LA and the University of Vermont.

Early-life: Born Colin James Farrell on May 31, 1976, in Castleknock, Dublin. He's the youngest of four children, and one of his sisters, Claudine, is now his personal assistant. His father, Eamon, was a professional footballer, and Farrell thought of following in his footsteps until he realised his love of drinking and girls got in the way of training. Instead, he concentrated on acting after being taken to a drama club by his brother.

Early-life: Jennifer Anne Garner was born in Houston, Texas, on April 17, 1972. The middle of three daughters, she was raised in Charleston, West Virginia, by her English teacher mother and father, a chemical engineer. As a child she had ballet lessons. After graduating from high school, Garner enrolled at Denison University, Ohio, to study chemistry, but soon discovered her heart lay in acting. She planned to do drama at Yale, but moved to New York instead.

Early-life: Michael Clarke Duncan was born on December 10th, 1957. He was raised by his single mother on Chicago's South Side - a notorious community. He resisted drugs and alcohol, instead concentrating on school. He wanted to play football in high school, but his mother wouldn't let him, fearing he would get hurt - despite his enormous bulk. He then turned to acting, dreaming of becoming a Hollywood star. After graduating from high school and attending community college, he worked digging ditches at Peoples Gas Company in Chicago. When he quit his job and headed to Hollywood, he landed small roles while working as a bodyguard for the likes of Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J and the Notorious B.I.G. He let a friend take over for him the night Notorious B.I.G. was shot, which prompted him to quit that line of work.

Early-life: Jonathan Kolia Favreau was born in Flushing, Queens, New York, on October 19, 1966, the only child of two teachers. His mother died of leukemia in 1979. Jon attended Queens College but dropped out a few credits short of completing his degree. In the summer of 1988, he moved to Chicago to pursue a career in comedy. He performed at the ImprovOlympic and Improv Institute.