Career: After deciding to become an actor, Stallone struggled to find decent roles. After running out of money and being made homeless he appeared in soft-porn flick The Party at Kitty and Stud's and had bit parts in several mainstream movies before writing Rocky. He persuaded producers Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler to not only buy it, but also let him star in it. The film was a massive success, won three Oscars and was followed by five sequels. He's directed several other movies and had hits with the Rambo series, Cliffhanger and Cop Land. Other films include a remake of Get Carter, Paradise Alley and Judge Dredd. More recently he's starred alongside other macho stars in The Expendables and its sequel. He was also behind TV series The Contender.

Career: Walker landed the title role in the TV series Lorna Doone before making her feature debut in Shogun Warrior in 1991. In the same year she appeared in two other films, Les Equilibristes and Mike Newell's Enchanted April, in which she played an aristocrat eager to escape the attentions of her persistent admirers. She came to international attention as a single-minded member of an Irish terrorist splinter group in Phillip Noyce's Patriot Games (1992), and has worked steadily in both TV and cinema since, including a star turn in the miniseries State of Play. In 2005, she appeared in the first season of the HBO series Rome, playing Atia, the niece of Julius Caesar and mother of Octavian, later Caesar Augustus. More recent work includes roles in Waking the Dead, Miss Marple: At Bertram's Hotel, Numb3rs, Caprica, Sanctuary, Prisoners Wives, Clash of the Titans (2010), John Carter (2012), Warehouse 13 and Mr Selfridge.

Career: After earning two Tony Award nominations, he launched what would become a long and varied screen career. A memorable turn as Doc Johnson in the Vietnam war film Hamburger Hill in 1987 helped him land roles in the acclaimed movie The Hunt for Red October and TV dramas thirtysomething and In the Line of Duty: Street War. Splitting his time between the stage and screen, he built up a loyal following of devoted fans. By the mid-1990s, job offers were rolling in. Other film credits include Dangerous Minds, The Preacher's Wife, Cookie's Fortune and Space Cowboys. In 2001 he joined the cast of the Law & Order sister series Criminal Intent, the show which made him a household name. He played Assistant District Attorney Ron Carver for five years, appearing in 111 episodes. Since leaving Criminal Intent, he has starred in the TV series ER, FlashForward and The Closer, and the film Extraordinary Measures.

Career: Janis Joplin and Sammi Smith had number ones with his songs Me and Bobby McGee and Help Me Make It Through the Night. In 1972, Kris scored a hit in his own right thanks to Why Me, and went on to make several successful albums. His acting debut came in The Last Movie in 1971, followed by Cisco Pike, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and A Star is Born. He later formed country supergroup the Highway Men with Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. More recently, he's starred in Dolphin Tale, Deadfall and When Angels Sing.