Career: Craig started out on stage, eventually making his film debut in 1992's The Power of One. TV series Our Friends in the North and TV movie The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders made him a star in 1996. The movies Elizabeth (1998), Love is the Devil (1998), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Road to Perdition (2002), The Mother (2003), Sylvia (2003), Enduring Love (2004), Layer Cake (2004) and Munich (2005) followed. He was controversially cast in a five-film deal as James Bond, but proved doubters wrong with an outstanding performance in Casino Royale (2006). He's since followed it up with Quantum of Solace (2008) and Skyfall (2012). He's also appeared in Cowboys & Aliens (2011), and the US remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011).

Career: For 30 years, Waltz made a steady living as an actor on German TV but struggled to find English-speaking roles. His big break came when he met Quentin Tarantino and played Colonel Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds (2009). It catapulted him to international recognition and he won a number of awards for his performance, including an Academy Award. Since then, Waltz has been a bona fide Hollywood star and appeared in The Green Hornet (2011), Water for Elephants (2011), The Three Musketeers (2011) and Carnage (2011). In 2012 he teamed up with Tarantino again for the critically acclaimed Django Unchained, for which Waltz won his second Academy Award. He now has a number of Hollywood films in the pipeline.

Career: Fiennes' film debut was in Wuthering Heights opposite Juliette Binoche in 1992. It was his performances in that and the acclaimed 1990 TV drama A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia that impressed Steven Spielberg so much he cast him in Schindler's List. That movie launched his Hollywood career and he was soon snapped up for Quiz Show, Strange Days, The English Patient, The End of the Affair and Red Dragon. In 1995, he won a Tony Award for his role as Hamlet on Broadway. More recently, Fiennes has worked in such diverse projects as Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, The Constant Gardener, The White Countess, In Bruges, The Reader, Clash of the Titans, Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang and four Harry Potter movies. He made his directorial debut with Coriolanus in 2011, and is the Bond franchise's latest M.

Career: Harris' first break came in Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later (2002). In the same year, she starred in the TV adaptation of Zadie Smith's White Teeth. Since then, Harris has appeared on the big screen in A Cock and Bull Story (2005), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Miami Vice (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) and Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2010). In 2012, she starred alongside Daniel Craig in the hugely popular James Bond movie Skyfall. A year later, she starred opposite Idris Elba in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013). She returned to the James Bond franchise in 2015 in Spectre.

Career: Wright won a Tony Award for his role in Angels in America. He reprised the role several years later when HBO made a miniseries version of the play, for which he won an Emmy and a Golden Globe. Wright's film credits include The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Syriana (2005), Broken Flowers (2005), Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Source Code (2011), The Ides of March (2011) and The Hunger Games movies. He had a recurring role in Boardwalk Empire.

Career: Whishaw made his film debut in The Trench (1999). His other film credits include Layer Cake (2004), Stoned (2005), Brideshead Revisited (2008), The Tempest (2010) and Cloud Atlas (2012). He has played Q in the James Bond movies Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015). More recently, he has voiced the title character in Paddington (2014) and appeared in The Lobster (2015), Suffragette (2015), The Danish Girl (2015) and In the Heart of the Sea (2015). On the small screen, he has starred in Nathan Barley, Criminal Justice, The Hollow Crown, The Hour and London Spy.