Career: Cox's earliest TV appearances were as an extra in cult TV series The Prisoner. He has been a mainstay in the world of TV and film ever since, popping up in Hammer House of Horror, Minder, Frasier and Deadwood. He played Hannibal Lecktor in Manhunter, Michael Mann's adaptation of Red Dragon. (The name was later spelled Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs). He has appeared in a string of major Hollywood offerings, including The Long Kiss Goodnight, X-Men 2, Troy, The Bourne Supremacy, Zodiac and Red. On the stage he has appeared in Titus Andronicus, Taming of the Shrew and King Lear. He has also voiced characters in the video games Killzone and Manhunt.

Career: Lewis joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. He made his TV debut in 1993's Micky Love; his first film was a 1997 take on Robinson Crusoe. He gained more fame playing Mark in Hearts and Bones, but it was the wartime series Band of Brothers that made his name - he also got a chance to prove he could do an American accent, which has come in handy ever since. The Forsyte Saga was another success. Hollywood work has dominated his CV since 2003, with the likes of Dreamcatcher and TV series Life and Homeland. He returned to Blighty to film the big-screen revamp of The Sweeney.

Career: He made his first professional stage appearance in the West End in The Woman in Black and went on to join the Royal Shakespeare Company for two seasons, taking roles in Son of Man, Les Enfants du Paradis, Troilus and Cressida, and the award-winning The Herbal Bed. Joseph's screen debut was in The Vacillations of Poppy Carew, and he attained international acclaim after appearing in Elizabeth and playing the part of William Shakespeare in 1998's Oscar-winning romantic comedy Shakespeare in Love. After returning to the stage, he also appeared in several high-profile movies including Enemy at the Gates and The Merchant of Venice, as well as US series Flash Forward, Camelot and American Horror Story.

Career: Cunningham's debut film role came in Into the West. His on-screen acting continued with minor roles in War of the Buttons, A Little Princess, Cracker-Best Boys and First Knight. Cunningham's breakout role came in Jude, playing Phillotson. He continued with small character roles in Police 2020, Falling for a Dancer, the superb BBC drama Shooting the Past, When the Sky Falls and Revelation. Cunningham came to international prominence with his role as Captain Ryan in the critically acclaimed independent horror film, Dog Soldiers. Since then, Cunningham has starred in numerous high budget British and American films including The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Hunger, Clash of the Titans and Centurion.

Career: Cooper's breakthrough came in 2004 when he originated the role of Dakin at the National Theatre in Alan Bennett's The History Boys. He went on to play the role on Broadway and in the touring production in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. He played the part for a final time in the 2006 big-screen version. Since then, he has starred in The Duchess (2008), Mamma Mia! (2008), Freefall (2009), An Education (2009), Tamara Drewe (2010), The Devil's Double (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and its 2014 sequel, My Week with Marilyn (2011) and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2011). His TV credits include Down to Earth and Sense and Sensibility.

Career: Mackintosh made his TV debut in 1983 series Nanny, and went on to appear in Doctor Who, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4,The Bill, Care (for which he won a Royal Television Society Award), London Kills Me, The Buddha of Suburbia, Cadfael, Blue Juice, Prime Suspect, Undercover Heart and The Land Girls. He won Best Actor at the Brussels International Film Festival for his part in gender-bending comedy Different for Girls. Theatre roles have included Brighton Beach Memoirs and My Zinc Bed. His recent work includes Underworld: Evolution (and its second sequel), Shiny Shiny Bright New Hole in My Heart, Criminal Justice, Mo, and Luther.