Career: Shallow Grave kick-started McGregor's film career in 1994, then Trainspotting made his name on both sides of the Atlantic two years later. He went on to make Brassed Off, A Life Less Ordinary, Little Voice and the three Star Wars prequels. He formed production company Natural Nylon with friends Jonny Lee Miller, Sean Pertwee, Jude Law and Sadie Frost, but that has since disbanded. Other movies include Moulin Rouge!, Black Hawk Down, Young Adam, Big Fish, Deception, Angels & Demons, The Ghost and Mortdecai. The prolific actor always has a number of films in the pipeline, and occasionally tackles theatre work.

Career: Finding herself drawn to more obscure fare, Swinton began an association with experimental director Derek Jarman. She continued to work with Jarman for the next nine years, developing seven critically acclaimed films, including Caravaggio, The Last of England, The Garden, Edward II and Wittgenstein. After Jarman's untimely death in 1994, she took the title role in the hugely popular arthouse flick Orlando and began experimenting with new and untried directors and mediums, but also starred in more mainstream productions, such as The Beach, Constantine, Michael Clayton (for which she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar), and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. She also had roles in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, I Am Love and Only Lovers Left Alive.

Career: During his time at university, Mullan began acting, and continued after graduating. His CV includes appearances in hit films including Riff-Raff (1991), Shallow Grave (1994), Trainspotting (1996), Braveheart (1995), My Name Is Joe (1998), for which he won Best Actor at Cannes, and On a Clear Day (2005). Mullan also has plenty of small-screen appearances to his name, including the Channel 4 drama Boy A. An accomplished director, his most famous work is 2002 offering The Magdalene Sisters, which he also scripted. His other acting work includes Red Riding, The Fixer and Steven Spielberg's War Horse (2011). His most recent directing work is Neds, a project that won the best film award at the San Sebastian Film Festival in 2010. In 2013, he starred in the miniseries Top of the Lake.