Career: ABC executives became interested in producing a TV special after Blaine shot a video of his street magic. He claims he sealed the deal by levitating in the ABC offices. Whether it's biting a quarter in half and blowing it back together, or ripping his beating heart from his chest on the Carson Daily Show, Blaine never fails to astound. He spent a week in 1999 buried six feet underground, and 62 hours in a block of ice without food or sleep. Three years later, after 35 hours of standing on top of a flagpole, he leapt 80 feet onto a pile of cardboard boxes on the ground. In 2003, Blaine spent 44 days in a clear box suspended by the River Thames in London. Other stunts include spending time underwater, strapped to an electrical charge and being suspended upside down.

Career: In 2007, Katy signed to Capitol Music Group, changed her name to Katy Perry and released her first single, Ur So Gay, online. The departure from her gospel roots attracted some attention, but it was second single I Kissed a Girl that catapulted her to fame. She scored a number one across the world, and follow-ups Hot N Cold and Thinking of You, from the album One of the Boys, were also big hits. Her second album Teenage Dreams was released in 2010 and its lead single California Gurls also went to number one. She made her film debut voicing a Smurfette in The Smurfs (2011) and reprised her role in the 2013 sequel. She has also guest starred in episodes of How I Met Your Mother and Raising Hope. She continues to release albums and headline world tours.

Career: Smith's charm swayed Quincy Jones and the NBC TV network to give him a starring role in The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, a series that ran for six years. In 1992, he made his film debut with Where the Day Takes You. Since then, he's enjoyed a steady string of box-office hits, including Bad Boys, Independence Day, Men in Black and its two sequels, and Ali, which gained him an Oscar nomination. Other projects include Enemy of the State, Six Degrees of Separation, I, Robot, I Am Legend, Seven Pounds and Hancock. His recent work includes Men in Black 3, After Earth, and new movie Focus.

Career: Cranston became active in local theatre but his parents had mixed feelings about their son entering the profession. In the 1980s, he began landing guest roles on a number of TV shows, including CHiPs, Loving, Airwolf, Hill Street Blues and Falcon Crest. His career continued to be built on a steady stream of guest roles until his first big break came in 2000 when he landed a recurring role as Hal in the hugely popular sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. It ran for seven seasons, clocking up 151 episodes. Two years after Malcom ended, Cranston secured what turned out to be a landmark role in AMC drama Breaking Bad as high school chemistry teacher Walter White. For his work on the series, Cranston won a Golden Globe and four Emmys. Since starring in Breaking Bad, Hollywood producers have been beating a path to his door. He has starred in The Lincoln Lawyer (2011), Drive (2011), Larry Crowne (2011), Contagion (2011), John Carter (2012), Rock of Ages (2012), Total Recall (2012), Argo (2012) and Godzilla (2014). In 2014, he won a Tony Award for his portrayal of Lyndon B Johnson in the play All the Way.

Career: Encouraged by a girlfriend, he made his stage debut as a stand-up comic in 1989. Foxx changed his name to something androgynous after learning that women were first on the bill at open-mic nights in comedy clubs. By 1991 he was a star in the US thanks to TV show In Living Color. His first film was 1992's Toys. Since then he's had his own, self-titled show, and featured in movies The Truth About Cats and Dogs, Any Given Sunday, Ali and Collateral. His leading role in Ray Charles biopic Ray propelled him onto Hollywood's A-list. He's also released several albums, and collaborated with Kanye West on hit single Gold Digger.

Career: Gervais started out in radio on Xfm, where he met Stephen Merchant, who would become his writing partner. His first taste of stardom came via Channel 4's The 11 O'Clock Show. Tongue-in-cheek chat show, Meet Ricky Gervais, paved the way for BBC sitcom The Office. Extras, Life is Short and An Idiot Abroad (featuring his sidekick Karl Pilkington) have also been TV hits. He's also continued to work on radio, done stand-up, wrote the children's books Flanimals, worked on The Simpsons, appeared in various Hollywood movies and wrote and directed (with Merchant) as well as appeared in the film Cemetery Junction. Gervais has won many awards, including several Baftas, Emmys and Golden Globes. His most recent project is the Channel 4 comedy Derek, in which he stars as well as directing and writing each episode.

Career: In 1986, Kravitz moved to New York with his then girlfriend, Cosby Show actress Lisa Bonet. Kravitz then met recording engineer Henry Hirsch, who worked with him on his debut album, Let Love Rule. It was not a critical success but the public liked the mix of soul and rock which ended up in the charts. Kravitz co-wrote the lyrics and produced Madonna's video for Justify My Love. In 1991, his second album, Mama Said, was released. It was more introspective and was a hit. Its single It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over was also a success. In 1993, the third album, Are You Gonna Go My Way, was the first to be acclaimed by critics. The title song won an MTV Video Award for Best Male Video. He continues to release albums. In recent years, he has acted in Precious, The Hunger Games, Lee Daniels' The Butler, and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Career: Went on to do research in Cosmology at Cambridge and was diagnosed as suffering from the incurable disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Between 1970 and 1974, Hawking concentrated his studies on black holes. In 1979 he was appointed Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University. Overcoming the obstacle of his illness, he has made very significant contributions in physics and has received many awards, medals and prizes worldwide. So far he has been awarded 12 honorary degrees. After a tracheotomy, he now speaks through a voice synthesizer.