Career: On moving to California in 1974, Whoopi helped found the San Diego Repertory Company and honed her performance skills doing stand-up comedy. She made her movie debut in 1982's Citizen, but became a huge star in Steven Spielberg's acclaimed drama The Color Purple three years later. She has stuck largely to comedies such as Jumping Jack Flash, Sister Act and Monkeybone since, although she has appeared in such dramas as Girl, Interrupted and Boys on the Side. In 1991 she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Ghost. She also had a semi-regular role in Star Trek: The Next Generation and has taken several bit-parts in US sitcoms. She also appears as a regular on American daytime talk show The View. She returned to the stage in 2010 in the musical versions of The Lion King and Sister Act.

Career: After numerous small TV and film roles, including parts in acclaimed dramas The Onion Field and Body Heat, Danson's big break came in 1982 when he was cast as retired baseball player and barkeeper Sam Malone in US sitcom Cheers. The show ran for more than a decade, and during that time, Danson received nine Emmy nominations, winning twice, and two Golden Globes. He went on to star in the successful sitcom Becker, which ran for six years. He's also starred in a number of films, including Three Men and a Baby and its sequel, Made in America, Saving Private Ryan and a highly acclaimed adaptation of Gulliver's Travels. More recent TV work includes roles in Damages, Bored to Death, and CSI.

Career: Long's first role was in the Disney TV movie The B.R.A.T. Patrol. Her first break came in 1991 when she was cast as Kat Speakes on the soap opera Guiding Light, a role she played for three years. She made her movie debut in Boyz n the Hood (1991). Since then she has had recurring roles on the small screen in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Third Watch, Boston Legal and Big Shots. Her film credits also include Made in America (1993), Friday (1995), The Best Man (1999), Big Momma's House (2000) and its 2006 sequel, Alfie (2004), Are We There Yet? (2005) and its sequel Are We Done Yet? (2007) and The Best Man Holiday (2013). In 2012, she had a recurring role in TV comedy drama House of Lies.

Career: Smith's charm swayed Quincy Jones and the NBC TV network to give him a starring role in The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, a series that ran for six years. In 1992, he made his film debut with Where the Day Takes You. Since then, he's enjoyed a steady string of box-office hits, including Bad Boys, Independence Day, Men in Black and its two sequels, and Ali, which gained him an Oscar nomination. Other projects include Enemy of the State, Six Degrees of Separation, I, Robot, I Am Legend, Seven Pounds and Hancock. His recent work includes Men in Black 3, After Earth, and new movie Focus.