Career: McShane's first film was 1962's The Wild and the Willing. After that, he built a reputation as a fine stage actor thanks to various West End productions. His first starring role came in 1966's Skywest and Crooked, which co-starred Hayley Mills and was directed by her actor father John. He played Heathcliff in an acclaimed TV adaptation of Wuthering Heights and gained plaudits for such productions as Roots, Jesus of Nazareth and Disraeli. McShane became a household name thanks to Lovejoy in 1986, and even appeared in Dallas. Other projects include Deadwood (for which he won a Golden Globe award), Sexy Beast, Kings, 44 Inch Chest, The Pillars of the Earth, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Jack the Giant Slayer.

Career: Wilkinson made his TV debut in the mid-1970s, and went on to appear in programmes including First Among Equals and A Pocket Full of Rye. However, it was his role as Mr Pecksniff in the BBC's 1994 adaptation of Martin Chuzzlewit that really put the actor on the map. Three years later Tom won a Bafta for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in The Full Monty, and the 1990s also saw him appear in such notable films as Shakespeare in Love, In the Name of the Father and Wilde. More recently, he played the gangster Carmine Falcone in Batman Begins, gained great critical acclaim for In the Bedroom, starred alongside George Clooney in Michael Clayton and played German army officer Friedrich Fromm in Valkyrie. He won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Benjamin Franklin in the miniseries John Adams. His recent work on the big screen includes roles in The Ghost, Burke and Hare, The Green Hornet and The Conspirator.