Career: After several TV roles, Hanks made the transition to movies and became one of the biggest stars of the past three decades. His breakthrough came in 1984's Splash, and was followed by hit after hit, including Bachelor Party and Dragnet. When he took the lead in Oscar-nominated Big in 1988, he transformed a simple comedy into something much more powerful, before truly proving his acting credentials with an Oscar-winning turn as an Aids-afflicted laweyer in Philadeplhia. He gave terrific turns in romantic comedies like Sleepless in Seattle, then another Oscar followed for Forrest Gump. Many expected him to garner a third for Saving Private Ryan. He has been a successful director of several projects and helped bring iconic TV projects like Band of Brothers to the screen. Recent hits include The Da Vinci Code and its follow-up, and the Toy Story films.

Career: At USC, Zemeckis developed a close friendship with fellow student Bob Gale, who he co-wrote the Back to the Future trilogy with. After winning a Student Academy Award at USC for his film A Field of Honor, Zemeckis formed a working relationship with director Steven Spielberg, who executive produced a number of his films. Zemeckis was struggling to find work in the early 1980s until Michael Douglas hired him to direct Romancing the Stone. It was a box-office hit and gave Zemeckis the clout he needed to direct Back to the Future (1985), which was hugely successful and was followed by two sequels. He went on to direct a string of successful movies, including Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Death Becomes Her (1992), Forrest Gump (1994), Contact (1997), What Lies Beneath (2000), Cast Away (2000), The Polar Express (2004) and A Christmas Carol (2009). He produced box-office animated flop Mars Needs Moms (2011) but bounced back by directing live-action drama Flight (2012).