Career: Bullock moved to New York and studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Student films were followed by the Off-Broadway play No Time Flat. She went to Hollywood to appear in TV movie Bionic Showdown in 1989, and thought her big break had come when she landed the lead in a small-screen version of hit movie Working Girl. Sadly, the series flopped. Things began looking up in 1993 when she landed a role in Demolition Man; a year later she was a massive star thanks to Speed. Hits since include While You Were Sleeping, Miss Congeniality (and its sequel), Crash, Premonition and The Proposal. She won an Oscar for her performance in The Blind Side. Her recent credits include The Heat and Gravity.

Career: Caine worked on stage and appeared in small roles on TV, often struggling to make ends meet. He was good friends with Terence Stamp during the early 1960s, before either became famous, and they often shared digs. Caine decided if he wasn't successful by the age of 30 he'd quit acting. Days before this milestone he landed the role in Zulu which made his name. The Harry Palmer spy movies, The Italian Job and Alfie secured his star status. Since then, he's made many films, many forgettable and, by his own admission, done for the money. Highlights include Get Carter, Sleuth (plus a remake), The Man Who Would Be King, Educating Rita, Little Voice, Mona Lisa, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Harry Brown and Interstellar. He won Oscars for Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules. He claims he will retire from showbusiness when he's 90.

Career: Shatner spent years as a jobbing actor, appearing in such movies as The Brothers Karamazov and The Intruder, as well as The Twilight Zone TV series before Star Trek made him a household name in 1966. He played Captain Kirk for three years before the show was cancelled, then appeared in numerous TV shows and movies before Star Trek: The Motion Picture relaunched his career in 1979. He starred as Kirk in six more films before the character was finally killed off in 1994. He has also featured in TJ Hooker, Free Enterprise and Miss Congeniality and its sequel. Shatner returned to TV in 2004 in the series Boston Legal. In 2010, he starred in his first sitcom, $#*! My Dad Says. Away from showbusiness, he's written several sci-fi novels, recorded a number of much-criticised albums and is a champion horse breeder.

Career: Bratt made his professional debut at the Utah Shakespeare Festival before starring in TV pilot Juarez, which failed to make it into a full series. He had a regular role in Police Story: Gladiator School in 1988 and became a familiar face on the small screen in Knight Watch and Nasty Boys. He became a household name in the US by landing a role in hit show Law and Order in 1995. Other roles since then have included parts in such movies as Red Planet, Miss Congeniality, Traffic, Catwoman and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs as the voice of Manny. TV credits include Frasier, The Cleaner, Modern Family and Private Practice.