Career: In 1989, Romano won a talent contest run by a local radio station, which landed him a manager. He made his TV debut that year in The Johnnie Walker National Comedy Search. Appearances on The MTV Comedy Half-Hour and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson helped boost his profile. Guest roles in animated sitcom Dr Katz, Professional Therapist, proved he could act. He won a regular role in NewsRadio in 1996, but turned it down to launch Everybody Loves Raymond. It proved a wise move. The show ran for nine years, was hugely popular and made Romano a major US star. He's since appeared in the movie Welcome to Mooseport and lent his voice to animated film Ice Age and its sequels. He was last seen in the comedy drama Men of a Certain Age and the sitcom Parenthood.

Career: One of Leguizamo's early acting roles was a small part in Casualties of War (1989). More movies followed, including Die Hard 2 (1990), Super Mario Bros (1993), Carlito's Way (1993), To Wong Foo (1995), Romeo + Juliet (1996), Summer of Sam (1999) and Moulin Rouge (2001). More recently, he has starred in The Lincoln Lawyer (2011), Kick-Ass 2 (2013), The Counselor (2013), Ride Along (2014) and Chef (2014).

Career: That resulting concert film No Cure for Cancer made him an instant star in Hollywood. He made a series of guest appearances on Jonathan Ross's show Saturday Zoo in 1993 and was snapped up for a series of movies cashing in on his wise-talking image. However, Demolition Man and Hostile Hostages failed to turn him into a superstar. In 1999, he played the New York cop trying to catch Pierce Brosnan in The Thomas Crown Affair remake. While researching that part, he was so inspired by the cop he hung around with, he created TV series The Job. He co-produced and helped write the Johnny Depp movie Blow, and also provided voiceovers for the films A Bug's Life and Ice Age. He's a driving force behind The Leary Firefighters Foundation after his first cousin and a childhood friend were killed tackling a fire in his hometown. He played veteran firefighter Tommy Gavin in American drama Rescue Me from 2004 to 2011. Issues dealt with in the series included post 9/11 trauma, and the final episode aired fours days before the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Career: Dinklage's big break came in the 2003 film The Station Agent. In the same year, he starred alongside Will Ferrell in the seasonal favourite Elf (2003). He went on to have recurring roles on TV in Threshold and Nip/Tuck. His other film credits include Penelope (2006), Death at a Funeral (2007), and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). He is best known for playing Tyrion Lannister in the HBO series Game of Thrones, a role he has played since 2011.

Career: Her debut album, All Hail the Queen, was released in 1989 when she was 19. After she issued her fourth hip-hop album, Order in the Court, she began to sing soul music and jazz standards. She released her first soul/jazz album, The Dana Owens Album, in 2004. She returned to hip-hop in 2008 on the record All Hail the Queen II. Away from music, she began acting in the 1990s in American sitcom Living Single. She went on to have supporting roles in the films House Party 2 (1991), Jungle Fever (1991), Juice (1992), Set It Off (1996), Living Out Loud (1998) and The Bone Collector (1999) and had her own talk show from 1999 to 2001. She gained mainstream success in Chicago (2002), Bringing Down the House (2003) and Hairspray (2007). More recently, she returned to TV with The Queen Latifah Show.

Career: Lopez had small roles in films My Little Girl and Lambada before her big break came with a two-year stint in TV comedy series In Living Color. She toured as a dancer with Janet Jackson and appeared in several other TV shows. She then starred on the big screen in My Family, Money Train, Jack, and Blood and Wine. Playing the title role in 1997's Selena proved Lopez was more than just a pretty face, while Out of Sight and The Wedding Planner turned her into box-office gold. Movies since include Maid in Manhattan, Monster-in-Law and the much-maligned Gigli. After a three-year break from movies, she returned in 2010 romantic comedy The Back-Up Plan. She has been a judge on several American Idol series and is a hugely successful recording artist with numerous hit albums, singles and tours to her name.

Career: Pegg quickly gained a fanbase and performed his acclaimed one-man show at major venues in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. His first TV appearance was in 1995's Six Pairs of Pants, followed by Saturday Live and a two-year stint in ITV sitcom Faith in the Future. Other early projects include Big Train and Is It Bill Bailey? He co-wrote cult, award-winning sitcom Spaced with friend Jessica Stevenson. He has since reinforced his standing as one of Britain's leading performers with appearances in Band of Brothers, 24 Hour Party People (2002), Shaun of the Dead (2004), Mission: Impossible III (2006) and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011), Hot Fuzz (2007), Run Fatboy Run (2007), Star Trek (2009) and its sequel Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), Paul (2011) and The World's End (2013).

Career: Frost's starring role in Spaced led to other roles, most notably a one-off episode of Acorn Antiques. In 2002, Frost presented the show Danger! 50,000 Volts! as well as co-writing and starring in the radio comedy Sofa of Time. Two years later, Frost and Pegg teamed up for the smash "rom-zom-com" Shaun of the Dead (2004). Their next big-screen foray, Hot Fuzz (2007), went down equally well with audiences. The third film in their trilogy, The World's End, was released in 2013. Frost has also starred in TV comedies Hyperdrive and Mr Sloane, and the films Penelope (2006), Paul (2011), Attack the Block (2011) and Cuban Fury (2014).