Career: Landed a role in soap Love of Life to help pay his college fees, and appeared on stage with Katharine Hepburn. He became so busy he was forced to quit Julliard in his final year. Made his big-screen debut with a small role in 1976 movie Gray Lady Down, then landed the part which would make him famous - Superman. He played the comic-book hero four times, but because of its enormous popularity, he found it difficult to escape its shadow and his career suffered. In 1995, he was paralysed in a horse riding accident. Subsequently, he worked tirelessly, lobbying for better treatment for disabled people and improved research. Reeve continued to act, appearing in TV movie Rear Window and TV series Smallville, based on the Superman mythology, before his death in 2004.

Career: After switching to acting, Seymour's movie debut was in a small role in Oh! What a Lovely War in 1969. A year later she made her first TV appearance in Here Come the Double Deckers! Roles in TV series The Pathfinders, The Onedin Line and The Strauss Family made her a famous name in the UK, but it was Bond flick Live and Let Die in 1973 which turned her into a star. She's worked continuously on the small and big screens ever since in such projects as Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, Somewhere in Time, War and Remembrance, and the long-running Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman. She's also taken part in Dancing with the Stars and was last seen on the big screen in Love, Wedding, Marriage.

Career: Plummer made his Broadway debut in 1953 in The Starcross Story - a play that lasted just one night. He had better luck with his next show, Home is the Hero, which lasted for 30 performances. He has since appeared successfully on stages around the world, including London. Plummer's film career began in 1958 when he was cast in Stage Struck, but it was The Sound of Music in 1965 that made him an international star. Since then, he has been a heavily in-demand character actor and appeared in a number of notable films, including The Night of the Generals (1967), The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), Malcolm X (1992), The Insider (1999), A Beautiful Mind (2001) and The Lake House (2006). He received his first Academy Award nomination in 2009 for The Last Station, but lost out to Christoph Waltz. He had better luck in 2012 when he won an Oscar for his performance in Beginners (2010). His recent credits include Priest (2011) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011).