Career: At the age of 10, Christian made his West End debut in The Nerd, opposite Rowan Atkinson. He was hand-picked from 4,000 auditionees to take the lead role in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun in 1987. Unlike many child stars, he has successfully made the transition to serious grown-up actor. Films since include Little Women, The Portrait of a Lady, Velvet Goldmine, American Psycho, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Shaft, Reign of Fire, Equilibrium and The Machinist. His status soared after playing Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins and its sequels. His other recent films have included The Prestige, 3:10 to Yuma, Terminator Salvation, Public Enemies, The Fighter (for which he won an Oscar) and American Hustle.

Career: Watson's acting career began on the stage with roles in the likes of The Children's Hour, Three Sisters, and Much Ado About Nothing. She made her film debut in Lars von Trier's critically acclaimed Breaking the Waves (1996), which earned Watson her first Academy Award nomination. She received a second nomination for Hilary and Jackie (1998). Her other film credits include Angela's Ashes (1999), Gosford Park (2001), The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004), Synecdoche, New York (2008), War Horse (2011), The Book Thief (2013) and The Theory of Everything (2014). Her TV credits include the miniseries The Politician's Husband.

Career: Sean worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company before making his TV debut in a 1984 episode of The Bill. Roles in The Fifteen Streets, Stormy Monday and Patriot Games followed before Lady Chatterley and the first Sharpe TV movies made him a household name in 1993. Other work includes A Woman's Guide to Adultery, Bravo Two Zero, GoldenEye, Ronin, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Equilibrium, Troy, National Treasure and HBO TV series Game of Thrones. He is one of Hollywood's most sought-after character actors and always has a number of productions in the pipeline.

Career: Macfadyen's first role was in the TV film The Lost Language of Cranes (1991). After appearing in TV series Takin' Over the Asylum (1994), he was cast in the Oscar-winning Braveheart (1995). Through the rest of the 1990s, he appeared in such films as Warriors of Virute (1997) and The Rat Pack (1998). He went on to appear in science fiction film Equilibrium (2002) and then play Jeff Denlon in Saw III (2006) and Saw IV (2007). Since then, he has starred in historical drama series Turn: Washington's Spies and appeared in We Bought a Zoo (2011), Hirokin: The Last Samurai (2012) and The Lost City of Z (2017). He also wrote, directed and starred in Macbeth Unhinged (2016).

Career: Purcell got his big break, thanks to drama series Raw FM, before going on to appear in a selection of home-grown shows. He enjoyed roles in the likes of Water Rats and Heartbreak High, as well as TV movies Moby Dick, First Daughter, and Silent Predators. The actor hit the big time after landing a part alongside Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible II. This led to him taking the title role in US series John Doe, and a part in action movie Blade: Trinity. Other big-screen outings include Christian Bale vehicle Equilibrium and Primeval. He played one of the lead roles in American drama Prison Break for four years alongside Wentworth Miller. He returned to the big screen in 2011 in the remake of Straw Dogs. Since 2014, he has had a recurring role in TV series The Flash.

Career: While awaiting his big break, Pertwee trained as an animator and designed album covers. He worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and made his film debut with a brief role in 1987's Prick Up Your Ears. His appearances in such projects as Blue Juice, Stiff Upper Lips, Cadfael, Cleopatra, Event Horizon, The 51st State and Dog Soldiers turned him into a heart-throb. He was co-owner of production company Natural Nylon with his friends Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, Jude Law and Sadie Frost, until its demise in 2003. A prolific voice-over artist, he's also appeared in The Tudors and the Goal movies. His recent projects include UFO, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, Elementary and Gotham.